The Small Things
by CarlieD
Summary: What would've happened if Sirius had never gone after Peter?
1. Prologue

_**THE SMALL THINGS**_

_What would have happened if Sirius had never gone after Peter?_

* * *

**Prologue**

It was a quiet night on October 31, 1981. A full moon drifted in the clear night sky, the temperatures had just started to take a turn for the chillier; and inside a little house on Keepsey Road in Godric's Hollow, a young father was playing with his little son while his wife tried to talk some sense into him.

At the same time, another young man was preparing to leave his tiny, cluttered Rogers Street flat in London. Nobody saw the tremble in his hands as he tucked his wand safely away, or the way his clear blue eyes darted all around, as if expecting monsters to jump from the closet. Nobody noticed when he rubbed his left wrist, as if a case of rheumatism had struck. And then he left.

Meanwhile, a third young man had kissed his girlfriend goodbye at the steps to her Egan Avenue boarding house in London, and was heading for the empty Rogers Street flat on his motorbike, worry in his eyes as he watched the full moon above him.

And as all of this was happening, a fourth young man was trapped in his personal hell, hidden away in a remote ramshackle property. Worry and pain and anger all melded together to create one of the most awful nights of his life, making him howl with frustration as he tried to break out of his secure shed.

It would be only a short time – not even two hours – before all seven lives were torn asunder. A family destroyed, a sacred brotherhood broken, and in the midst of it all, a child with nowhere to go.


	2. Sirius

**Chapter 1: Sirius**

He wasn't there. He wasn't there. That could only mean one thing: it was him. One of the last people I would've suspected as a Death-Eater had betrayed my best friend to the most evil wizard to ever walk the planet.

I had to get there. Who knew how long ago it had been since he'd left, since Voldemort had been informed of where the Potters were hiding? James and Lily needed me. Harry needed me.

I was too upset to Apparate, so I jumped onto my motorbike and floored it all the way to Godric's Hollow – a route I knew as well as the family I was going to find.

***

It had been Lily's idea to move to Godric's Hollow when Harry had been born last year. She had gotten this crazy idea that children were better raised in the country than in the loud, bustling city; and James, being the devoted slave to love that he was (and still is), happily ceded to her wishes.

At first, I was a little ticked off – after all, Godric's Hollow wasn't exactly next door to London and I wanted to see my godson plenty. Of course, then Felicity reminded me that I was a fully qualified wizard and it was only a matter of minutes to Apparate there. After that, I was a little more at ease with it.

And I have to admit, maybe Lily had a point. Harry's grown by leaps and bounds in the last fifteen months – I have never seen a little boy so perfect. But then again, maybe I'm biased. He's the most important thing in my life: more than Felicity, more than James and Lily and Remus and Peter, more than my job, more than the Order. If I could only keep one thing, one person in my life and lose everything else – I'd keep Harry.

***

I land on the drive leading into James and Lily's property. I can smell smoke, the distinct smell of death – don't ask me what death smells like, I can't put it into words. I can hear somebody, I think it's Hagrid, trying to calm somebody in his gentle, booming voice. And on top of it all, I can hear the most gut-wrenching sound: the sound of Harry screaming and crying.

***

It reminds me of the time Harry stumbled across a Boggart. He was about 11 months old, and I had stolen him from James and Lily for the weekend. Remus and Felicity were both over for the night. Harry had crawled off into the hallway – I hadn't seen a problem with it, my entire place is baby-proof. The three of us were in the sitting room, talking, when Harry let out a terrified scream and started sobbing hysterically.

So being the devoted godfather that I am, I immediately beat it out there to scoop Harry up into my arms and comfort him while Felicity and Remus tried to figure out what had happened. They finally figured out that there had been a Boggart lodged in my grandfather clock – it's a beast of a thing, that clock, but my uncle Alphard had left to me in his will, and after the old man had been decent enough to give me gold too, I wasn't getting rid of it.

I've never been able to bear the sound of Harry crying. I hate hearing him cry, because it means that his world is not perfect at that moment in time, and if I had my way with the world, it would all exist solely to make sure Harry was always happy and his world was always perfect.

***

"Poor little tyke, yeh must have such a headache…" Hagrid sooths, voice a little panic-stricken. "Yeh'll be fine in a second, Harry, yeh'll see." And Harry continues to scream and cry, and as I approach, I can see that he's fighting against Hagrid. Harry's not used to Hagrid, and quite frankly, Hagrid is a terrifying individual if you're not used to him. "Harry, yer goin' ter fall if yeh keep this up."

"Hagrid," I say, voice coming out in a croak as I see the wreckage of the home where I had spent so many nights. "Hagrid, what happened?" Maybe it wasn't Voldemort. Maybe James had simply been a little careless with something. An accident. I could live with an accident.

"It was You-Know-Who, Sirius," Hagrid says grimly, and I feel my face lose all blood. "James an' Lily are dead."

The little rat… he is going to pay for this.

"SIUS!" Harry screams, struggling and reaching out for me. "SIUS, ME!"

My heart twists.

***

Harry has a pretty large vocabulary for only being fifteen months. He knows the important names – Da, Ma, Sius (me), Mus (Remus) and Fissy (so far, that's his best attempt at Felicity). He can never seem to get the hang of his 'R', 'T' and 'L' sounds. He knows the basic actions and items. The combination of any name and 'me', we've learnt, means 'pick me up and dote on me'. Or 'pick me up and play with me'. Or 'pick me up and cuddle with me'. Basically, 'Pay attention to me. You are my chosen audience'.

***

"Please, Hagrid," I beg as Harry keeps screaming for me, "give Harry to me, I'm his godfather…"

Hagrid shakes his head. "Dumbledore said ter bring him ter his aunt an' uncle, Sirius."

"Merlin, _no_, Hagrid!" I cry out. "_I'm_ his guardian, he's supposed to come to _me_…" I have to have Harry. I can't lose him too.

"Dumbledore's orders, Sirius. He's ter go ter his aunt an' uncle. Yeh have a problem with it, take it up with Dumbledore." With that, Hagrid tightens his grip on Harry and goes while Harry keeps screaming and crying.

All right, I will. I want Harry. I will do whatever it takes to get Harry. And if that means that I have to leave Peter for the time being and have a heated argument with Dumbledore, that's what I'll do.

Momentarily, I wonder if I shouldn't go see Remus. It's full moon tonight – it's supposed to be James' month to stay with him, but James was in hiding. Remus claimed that he was a grown man, he could live with being on his own for a few full moons and that neither of us should have to stay with him any way.

Then I remember that I can't get into Remus' safe place now, anyway. Remus won't be able to understand until after the sun rises and he's human again. And these are precious hours I need to regain custody of Harry. As soon as I get Harry, I'll go to Remus.

***

Merlin, this is like a neighbourhood of clones. All the same cars, all the same houses, all the same lawns… how can somebody tell which house is theirs?

The streetlamps are all extinguished – thanks to Dumbledore's Putter-Outer, I'm sure. Now, what was the number again? Number something, Privet Drive? It _is_ Privet Drive, isn't it? Merlin, my mind's spinning in so many different directions, I can't think straight. I'm surprised I didn't drive my bike into an aeroplane.

Finally, I spot two cloaked figures in front of number four. Cloaks… that would Dumbledore and somebody else – McGonagall, maybe?

"Ah, I think that's Hagrid now," Dumbledore says quietly, but then his face darkens when he sees me. I notice his hand going towards his wand. "Sirius, what are you doing here?" he asks carefully.

"Please, sir…" I say, aware that he believes me to be the traitor. Damn it, _why_ did I suggest this stupid ploy in the first place? "I know it's hard to believe, and I understand your caution, but it's not me."

"You'll excuse me if I'm not convinced by your words," Dumbledore replies softly.

"Please, sir," I repeat. "I lost James and Lily tonight." My voice breaks, and I try to continue without breaking down completely. "I can't lose Harry too. I don't know what I can do to convince you. I'll do whatever you want me to do. Just don't take Harry away."

Dumbledore studies me for a moment. Then he speaks. "I happen to have in my possession, a vial of Veritaserum."

Immediately, I understand what he's saying. Nodding, I say, "Anything."

Just as we're about to start, I've swallowed the Veritaserum and everything, Hagrid arrives with Harry. Harry's still screaming, though more hoarsely and with fading intensity. "I tol' yeh ter take it up with Dumbledore," he says approvingly as he looks at me.

"I'm just about to ask Sirius a few questions, Hagrid," Dumbledore says quietly. Hagrid nods. "Sirius, where were James and Lily hiding?"

"I can't say," I reply. Merlin, this is such a weird sensation. I'm completely aware of everything I'm saying, but somehow I can't seem to associate the thoughts in my head with the words in my mouth.

"Why can't you tell me?" Dumbledore asks.

"Because I'm not the Secret-Keeper."

"How did you know where to go tonight?"

"Because Peter had told me before."

"Peter is the Secret-Keeper for James and Lily?"

"Yes."

"Why did you go to the Potters' tonight?"

"I was checking on Peter. He was in hiding. But he wasn't there. There was no sign of a struggle. I knew then that it was him who was the traitor, so I went to James and Lily's to try to warn them. I was too late."

"Does Remus know?"

"Remus doesn't know anything yet. It's full moon."

"Remus didn't know that you weren't the Secret-Keeper?"

"No. When James and Lily first asked me to be Secret-Keeper, I thought that he was the traitor. When we made the switch from myself to Peter, none of us told Remus."

"What about Felicity? Does she know?"

"No. I never told her anything about James and Lily. She knows only as much as the rest of our world knows."

"Where is Peter now?"

"I don't know. I was more concerned with first getting Harry and then telling Remus what happened before he finds out from somebody else, somebody who doesn't know the truth."

"Why?"

"Because they're more important than filthy rats."

Hagrid mumbles, "Merlin, why won' he stop screamin'?"

"Because you're not listening to him," I answer. "He wants to come to me. That's what he's saying. 'Sius, me' means 'Sirius, hold me'."

"Give him to Black for right now, Hagrid," McGonagall sighs. "We can't have the Muggles waking."

Hagrid passes Harry to me and I immediately settle him in my arms, rubbing his back comfortingly. Slowly, Harry's screams dissolve into hiccupping gasps and his warm little body cuddles up to me as his eyelids begin to droop.

"Sirius," Dumbledore says seriously, "there is still the matter of Harry's safety. Now, there is an old magic that has come into place here. Voldemort, should he ever return, cannot touch Harry while he is a minor and lives under a blood relation's roof. That is part of why I told Hagrid to bring him here."

"Lily would be furious with you if you left Harry here," I say, tightening my hold on Harry possessively. "He may be safe from Voldemort, but he will be miserable. Lily's sister is about as much family to Harry as my parents are to me. Her sister will torment him and neglect him. Harry would never know anything about James or Lily. He would know nothing about who he is."

"Sirius, Harry is going to be an overnight celebrity. By this time tomorrow, every person in our world is going to know who he is. They very well may declare today Harry Potter Day."

Despite myself, I snicker. The Veritaserum is starting to wear off. Then I stop – Dumbledore's being dead serious. "All the better to keep him in our world, sir. It would be a horrible shock to live ten years with the Muggles and then be dropped into that kind of status when he starts school. At least this way he has a chance to adjust."

***

I watch Harry, not Dumbledore, while he thinks.

He's such a perfect little boy. I've said it a thousand times a day since he was born, and I will continue to say it a thousand times a day until the day I die. Felicity likes to laugh and say that I act as though he's _my_ son and not James'. I don't care – he's just as much mine as he is James and Lily's. Just like he's just as much Remus' as mine. We're closer than brothers, James and Remus and I. What belongs to one of us usually belongs to all of us, with the exception of wife and girlfriend; and so that includes Harry.

I can't lose him. I can't. I'll go mad with grief.

Finally, Dumbledore speaks. "All right, Sirius. Take him. But you and Remus keep as low a profile as possible in the next few days, until the initial chaos is settled. The Order will handle the problem of Peter."

I nearly collapse in sheer relief. Harry is mine. All mine.


	3. Remus

**Chapter 2: Remus**

Merlin. That was a horrible night. Probably the worst full moon of my life. Everything seems to be whirling around in my head: James and Lily and Harry in hiding, anger at whomever the traitor is, anger and pain at Sarah… No. Don't think about Sarah.

Groaning, I lift my head about an inch from the floor, register the sunrise, and drop back to sleep. I don't care about the fact I'm sleeping on a cold dirt floor, and if I could pull myself together for five minutes, I could at least make into the house and onto the couch. Normally, James or Sirius is here to poke and prod and basically annoy me until I get up, but they're both in hiding. And I don't have a job anymore, so I have nothing to convince me that there is any use in moving from my spot.

***

I'm awakened by something crawling onto my back. I didn't think I had any rats in the shed, but maybe I was wrong.

"Mus, me."

I'm still too exhausted to do much besides pull Harry off. "'Lo, Harry," I mumble. James does that sometimes when he can't spend the night here, if Lily has a night shift or something – he comes first thing in the morning with Harry to annoy me into consciousness.

"Mus, me," Harry repeats with a giggle, crawling under my arms this time. "Mus, up."

"All right, all right, all right, I'm up," I finally sigh and sit up. Then it dawns on me: what is Harry doing here? James is in hiding. Picking Harry up and settling him in my lap, I ask, "James?"

"No," comes Sirius' voice. Sitting back against one of the walls, he looks haggard, stricken as if in shock. His robes are rumpled, his hair messed.

"What's going on?" I ask warily, instinctively tightening my hold on Harry. For the first time, I see the fresh lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

Sirius watches me for a moment and then finally, he answers. "James… James and Lily were killed last night, Remus. Peter betrayed them to Voldemort."

I stare at him. James and Lily, dead? No, it couldn't be true. Slowly, I shake my head, but he nods.

I can only sit in stunned disbelief as Sirius tells me the story. And then it's the two of us, sitting on this cold dirt floor and staring at one another while Harry happily toddles his way around the shed, occasionally picking up a rock or a stick and depositing it in front of one of us. Now what?

***

"How in the _world_ are we supposed to keep a low profile?" I hiss irritably at Sirius as we go inside my house. "Not go outside for three days? What are we supposed to do about things for Harry? I have nothing here for him!"

"I don't know," Sirius says softly, setting Harry down on the floor. "I haven't had much time to think in the last twelve hours, Remus." His voice wavers.

"Sius, me!" Harry insists, reaching up. Sighing, Sirius reaches down and lifts him up again. "Fissy?"

"No, Felicity's not here, Harry," Sirius says quietly.

"Go Fissy?" Harry persists hopefully. A knock sounds at the door and I head for it, grateful for any chance to distract myself, while Sirius and Harry disappear from direct view of the front door.

I open the door to see Felicity standing outside. "Morning, Felicity," I say.

"Remus, have you heard about James and Lily?" she asks.

"Yeah," I say quietly. "Yeah, I have. Come in."

"I can't find Sirius anywhere," she says desperately. "I was hoping he might've come here. And nobody will tell me anything about where Harry's gone."

"Fissy!" Harry shrieks happily and he dashes out from the hallway. "Fissy, me!"

Felicity's face floods with relief and she scoops Harry up, cuddling him closely. She looks up only when Sirius emerges.

***

We explain the situation as best we can to Felicity. She immediately offers her late parents' coastal cabin as a lying point.

"You guys go," I say quietly, rocking Harry gently. He's just fallen asleep. "Nobody's going to bother asking _me_ questions."

"You sure?" Sirius asks worriedly as he carefully takes Harry from me. "You can come."

"No," I reply. "You two go on. It's only a few days, anyway."


	4. The First Days

**Chapter 3: The First Days**

Felicity sighed as she watched Sirius try to sooth Harry back to sleep. The little boy had woken up just as they'd arrived, and he had started to cry for James and Lily.

How long would it be before Harry forgot his parents? How long before he stopped asking for them, stopped crying when they didn't come?

"No!" Harry sobbed, pushing at Sirius' arms unhappily. "_Da_, me! _Da_, me!"

"Daddy's not here, Harry," Sirius said softly, tears in his eyes as the finality of the situation hit. "Daddy's not coming."

Harry stopped protesting for a moment, wide green eyes staring at him solemnly. "Da no come?" he asked tremulously.

"That's right, Harry," Sirius replied. "Daddy's not coming."

"Ma, me?" Harry asked in tearful hopefulness.

Sirius shook his head. "No, Harry. Mummy's not coming either."

Harry stared at him for a moment longer while his little mind tried to wrap itself around the concept. Then he burst into inconsolable tears.

"I know, Harry," Sirius murmured, holding him tightly. "I know."

***

Harry finally fell asleep again, and Sirius laid him down gently in the playpen: the cabin was well stocked with baby supplies, since Felicity's brother had small children and an infant.

Sirius sighed and crawled wearily into bed, too exhausted to care about little things like meals or changing into nightclothes. He just wanted to sleep.

"Sirius?" Felicity asked softly, looking at his drawn face.

"Mmm," Sirius mumbled.

"What are you going to do about Harry?"

Sirius pried open one eye. "What do you mean, what am I going to _do_? He's my godson, I'm keeping him. What else do you expect?"

"Sirius, you can't honestly think that that's the most reasonable –"

"Shut up before I hex you, Felicity."

***

Felicity and Sirius were both rudely awakened barely an hour later by Harry's terrified screams. Moaning, Felicity buried her head under a pillow. "I thought he slept through the night now, Sirius."

Sirius growled incoherently at her as he sat up. "Give the kid a break, Felicity. _Merlin_… he just watched his family be killed last night."

Sirius managed to get into the room where he'd put Harry down to sleep, seeing his precious little godson standing up and screaming his tiny heart out, tears streaming down his face. "Hey, Harry," he whispered comfortingly, lifting him out and into his arms. "Hey, kiddo. I'm here. I'm here. You're safe. I won't let anybody hurt you."

When Harry had fallen back asleep, Sirius tried gently to lay him back down, only to be hindered by Harry's fearful whimpers and hands clinging tightly to Sirius' robes. Sighing, Sirius settled Harry against his chest. "All right," he murmured. "You be that way, then." He smoothed a wayward lock of hair from the toddler's peaceful face. "I'll stay right here."

"Sius, stay," Harry slurred. "Sius stay me."

"Yes, Sirius will stay with you," Sirius soothed, rubbing Harry's back. With that, he settled into the couch to draw Harry back into sleep.

***

Sirius woke up a little disoriented. Couch? Why was he on a couch? And what was the weight on his chest?

Harry. James and Lily. It all came hurtling back like a twenty-ton rocket. Groaning, he carefully righted himself, steadying Harry. The kid was still sleeping soundly. Thank goodness.

"You up, finally?" Felicity asked, a little grouchily, from the kitchen. "Merlin, you _slept_ long enough. Put Harry down in the pen and come eat something."

"Nah," Sirius said, resettling the warm body against him in one arm. "I'd rather keep him here. He's not wriggling for once. Listen, I'm sorry for snapping at you last night…"

"That's all right, it was a bit of a stressful day," Felicity said reluctantly. Jealousy flared in her eyes as she saw that Sirius wasn't even looking at her. He was too busy watching the bleeding baby sleep. Godfathering was one thing: she could deal with splitting his attentions for a day or so. Guardianship was a whole other kettle of fish. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week of sharing her boyfriend with a baby? Not a chance. But he'd see reason.

***

Sirius laughed as he followed close behind Harry. The little boy was happily careening through the surf of the beach, shrieking as the cold water crept up on his feet. "Enjoying your little jaunt, here, Harry?" he asked, quickly catching the toddler before he crashed headfirst into the sand.

"Sius, pay!" Harry exclaimed, pointing at the water excitedly. "Sius, pay!"

"Oh, so you want to go _swimming_, do you?" Sirius said with a smile. "Well, it's a little cold for swimming," he said as he picked up Harry. "But I can certainly dunk your feet in." He dipped Harry in up to his little knees, and was rewarded with a squeal of delight and a splash. "There you are."

"Me co'd," Harry announced. "Sius, me."

"Very well, then," Sirius amended, settling Harry in his arms again and heading back towards the cabin, where Felicity was sitting cross-legged on the front porch, shivering in a sweater and glaring at Sirius. "Oh, come on, we weren't out _that_ long," he laughed, giving her a light kiss.

"It's bleeding November, Sirius, not July," she grumbled, unfolding herself and following him inside as he wrapped Harry up in a blanket.

"And you've never gone polar skinny-dipping," Sirius teased, rubbing Harry's back to quiet him to sleep.

"Never," she said.

***

"So you've really never gone polar skinny-dipping?" Sirius said mischievously as he pulled Felicity against him.

"Never," she repeated, thrilled that she had _all_ of his attention for the first time in almost three days. Laughing when he swept her into his arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "Where are we going?"

"We're going polar skinny-dipping," Sirius replied, dropping her to her feet at the waterfront. Before she could even think of retaliating, he had disrobed both of them and was dumping her into the water.

Felicity screamed from the sheer shock of the cold, breaking up from the water and shivering. "That's _freezing_, Sirius Black!"

"Hence the 'polar'," Sirius said teasingly, easing her against him and kissing her. She deftly evaded his hands, determined to punish him for ignoring her for three days.

"Felicity…" he complained.

She continued to torment him until she felt that he was sufficiently frustrated.

***

"_That_ was for ignoring me," she hissed at him, as he was nuzzling her neck hopefully afterwards once they'd returned to the cabin and changed.

"Merlin, Felicity, get some maturity," he said irritably, breaking away from her. "If you can't handle not being the only object of affection…"

"I _can_ for a day or two," Felicity protested in vain, "but we're talking about sixteen years here, Sirius!"

"You knew that as well as I did when I was first made his godfather, Felicity!" Sirius exclaimed.

"I wasn't expecting it to actually get called into play!"

Harry started crying then – not a real cry of need for something, just an insistent cry for somebody to come retrieve him.

"And the _crying_, good graces, the _crying_…" Felicity growled as Sirius quickly went to cater to Harry's desires. He reappeared moments later carrying Harry in one arm. The boy was quite pleased with where he was now, happily playing with a plush animal of some kind. "I'm telling you, Sirius Black, I'm not pleased with this! It's him or me."

Sirius stared at her. "Excuse me?" he asked incredulously. "Excuse me? You're asking me to choose between you or Harry?"

"Exactly."

Sirius sighed in disgust. "How absolutely juvenile. Well, have a good life then. Come on, Harry, put it down." He gently tugged the animal away and tossed it onto one of the couches. "We'll get you another from my house," he soothed quickly, when Harry threatened to burst into tears.

***

"I can't believe she'd be that immature," Sirius fumed as he paced around Remus' kitchen. Remus was sitting at the table, feeding Harry a bit of his lunch. "I mean, really, as if she didn't know who would win if it came down to that."

"Sit down and eat, Sirius," Remus sighed. "There's no use in raging about it. I'm beginning to think that all women are scum and James was lucky to get the only decent one in the lot."

Sirius grumbled under his breath and sat down. "Yeah, we _have_ had a rather bad string of them, haven't we?"

"Done," Harry announced stoutly, pushing Remus' hand away. "No eat. Pay." He wiggled his way back down to the floor and took off to pick up one of his toys.

"Have you ever noticed just how _spoiled_ he is?" Remus commented. "We all cater to his every whim."

"Sius, Mus, pay," Harry insisted, pulling at the two men's robes.

"It's hard to say 'no'," Sirius agreed.

"Pay!" Harry commanded again.

"I think it's the eyes," Remus said.

"I think it's the size. Who can say no to a tiny little thing like him?" Sirius countered.

"Sius!" Harry howled.

"One moment, Harry, it'll do you some good to be ignored for a while," Sirius said. "See, it can be done."

Harry's eyes filled with tears and he turned to Remus. "Mus…" he said tremulously, reaching his arms out.

"Damn it, it _is_ the eyes," Remus muttered as he lifted Harry up into his arms. "Aw, come on, Harry, you're fine," he comforted. "Sirius is just being mean."

"Sius _mean_," Harry echoed tearfully.

"Oh, gee, thanks, what a wonderful phrase for him to learn," Sirius said semi-sarcastically. "Give him here." He took Harry from Remus. "I'm sorry, Harry," he said, nuzzling the toddler's face affectionately.

Harry's lip trembled momentarily and then he buried his face into Sirius' neck, crying. Sirius sighed and rubbed his godson's back.

"Well, Sirius," Remus started to say. "We can't hide out forever."

"I know," Sirius replied softly. "Eventually we'll have to go out into the real world again."

***

"I have _never_ had this many people stare at me," Remus muttered to Sirius as they ducked into the Owl Emporium in Diagon Alley. They were there under pretense, and necessity, of getting some Owl Treats for Warfeather, Sirius' owl. Remus had Harry secure in one arm, Sirius was shooting dagger-like glares at every person who dared look like they were approaching.

"Ah-_wool_," Harry laughed, clapping his hands and pointing at a little Great Grey fledging. "Ah-_wool_, Mus."

"Yes, that's right, Harry," Remus replied with a smile. "That's an owl."

"Lupin?" a woman's voice asked from behind him, and Remus turned around to see Arabella Figg. Internally, he was relieved that it was an Order member who was first to really see Harry.

"Afternoon, Arabella," he said softly. "I'd say 'good' afternoon, but –"

"Phh," Arabella waved aside his comment. "There hasn't been a 'good' afternoon in quite a long time, Lupin, and you're far too young to have already learned that. Now, let me see this handsome little lad." She plucked Harry from him and settled him into her arms, a grieved look in her eyes as they drifted over the fresh scar. "Now _you_, sir, must be the most pleasant baby I've ever met in my extensive life. Augusta tells me that Neville has been giving her nonstop trouble for days."

"Afternoon, Arabella," Sirius greeted as he joined them. "Harry's gotten his nasty streak out already. He used all the nastiness up the first few days after…" he stopped, trying to regain a hold on his emotions.

"Sius, me," Harry begged, holding out his arms. Sirius took him back from Arabella and returned to the conversation.

"The pain will fade, boys," Arabella said softly. "I can't speak to how long. But one day, it'll fade." She sighed and shook her head. "Merlin, but these wars age a person… You two shouldn't have to be going through this. What are you, barely 20?"

"21, actually," Remus corrected.

"Hardly more than children," Arabella said dismissively. She shook her head again and wandered off.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other. Arabella hadn't been particularly encouraging. Finally, Remus sighed and said, "So where to now?"

"Eat!" Harry said stoutly. Both men laughed.

***

"Oh, sure, that's not a problem at all," Henry Eaglemere said understandingly as he took Sirius and Remus to one of the more isolated tables in the Dragon's Lair. Both smiled in thanks. "I'm sorry I don't have a children's chair here for Harry," he added, ruffling Harry's hair affectionately with a brief glance to Harry's scarred forehead. Henry was another Order member – used to Harry and Sirius and Remus already, and considerate of the need for privacy to grieve and adjust.

"Harry'll be fine, Henry, thank you," Sirius said, already beginning to tire of the eyes flicking upward and then away abruptly. "He'd wind up on one of our laps by the end of it, any way."

"Eat!" Harry insisted again, and Henry laughed.

"Right away, young sir," he said in mock seriousness and left again.

"Little commander of a tyke," Remus said with a slight chuckle.

Sirius smiled slightly. "Takes after his father." He bit his lip after that statement.

***

He laid Harry down in his crib that night. And when he was certain that Harry slept peacefully for the moment, he let the tears he'd been holding back for a week fall.

It had never been so painfully final to Sirius Black as it was at that moment: James wasn't coming back. James would never be coming back. Half of himself had died last week: the James half of the Sirius-and-James-what-have-you-done-now. The Prongs part of Moony-Wormtail-Padfoot-and-Prongs. The Potter half of the Black-and-Potter-I-expected-better-behaviour-of-seventh-year-students-and-Gryffindors-no-less-not-to-mention-Head-Boy.

They would never get another chance to mock-duel for who got to take Harry home with him after an Order meeting. Never again. They would never discuss in all seriousness the ways to best make Sarah Sinclare pay for having ripped Remus' heart in two. James wouldn't be there to comfort him when the pain of leaving Felicity struck.

James had always been excellent at giving him the unconditional love he had so craved. He had been more than a friend, more than a brother. James had been a part of Sirius, etched into his very _soul_.

_***_

_It was close to two in the morning when Sirius tumbled out of the fireplace, dragging his trunk, broom, owl and a whole slew of ashes and soot with him. Momentarily, he cringed at how furious Mrs. Potter would be that he'd tracked so much filth into the parlour. His mother and father's shouts and furious diatribes were still ringing in his ears, echoing in his head._

_"What the – Sirius, what are you doing here?" James asked with a yawn, appearing in the entrance to the parlour in his pajamas and dressing robe. "It's two in the morning."_

_"Please, James…" Sirius whispered, voice wavering. "Not tonight."_

_James crossed over to where Sirius was getting to his feet. He watched his eyes for a moment, concern penetrating through the hazel irises. Then he reached out and pulled Sirius into a tight hug, letting his best friend cry._

_Sirius looked up from some kind of irritating paperwork to see James standing in the doorway. "Hey, James, what's up?" he asked worriedly, getting up from his seat._

_The pain and grief and tears were evident in James' eyes. "They're dead. Both of them."_

_Sirius' heart stopped. And then for what was likely the first and last time, it was Sirius who wrapped his arms around his best friend and let him cry._

***

Sirius tried to rein in his emotions when he heard somebody come into the room. His valiant attempts failed, however, and he broke down again.

An arm wrapped around his shoulders and Remus' soft, broken voice said, "I know, Sirius. I know." And in the dark of Sirius' house, the two remaining Marauders grieved for the broken brotherhood.


	5. Learning To Move On

**Chapter 4: Learning To Move On**

"Merlin, but women are scum," Sirius muttered to Remus, resettling Harry on one hip as the two friends walked into the Leaky Cauldron one cold December afternoon, some two months later. Felicity was sitting at one table, talking animatedly to a young man in what Sirius knew was her flirtatious voice. Across the room, Sarah was doing the same with a different young man.

"I know," Remus replied darkly, eyeing Felicity with a look of great contempt while Sirius did likewise to Sarah. Each of them was equally enraged at the pain inflicted on the other. "Look at them. Chattering away as if nothing had ever gone wrong."

"I'm convinced that Lily was the exception to the species," Sirius said, brushing snow off of Harry's cloak. "All right, Harry. Let's get some dinner into you."

"Eat!" Harry laughed happily. "Eat, Sius!"

"Yeah, that's right, Harry," Remus laughed, ruffling his jet-black hair.

"Evening, Sirius, Remus!" Tom called. Sirius and Remus both internally groaned as the room went silent. Then the whispers started circulating: Harry Potter was there. The Boy-Who-Lived was actually in the Leaky Cauldron at that very moment. Perhaps his godfather would let them hold him for a moment, even just see the scar where You-Know-Who had failed to triumph once and for all…

Almost as soon as Tom had spoken, there was a gaggle of people around them, all clamoring for a look, a touch, a picture.

"No!" both Sirius and Remus exclaimed in irritation. Harry was beginning to get frightened by the crowd and the noise, clinging fearfully to Sirius as his eyes darted back and forth from the crowd to Sirius to Remus and over again.

Just as Harry had burst into tears and buried his face into Sirius' neck, Hagrid's booming voice thundered through the noise.

"Shame on yeh! Shame on all of yeh! Can' yeh see yeh've frightened the poor tyke half ter death? Off with yeh, leave him be! No decency outta any o' yeh, I swear…"

More frightened of being crushed by Hagrid than out of any sort of guilt, the crowd dispersed. Remus sent him a grateful smile as Sirius soothed Harry, who was still trembling and crying. "Thank you, Hagrid," Remus said quietly.

"Honestly, _people_…" Hagrid muttered, shaking his bushy head. "Anyhow, Dumbledore's bin wantin' ter talk ter yeh. He's got a private room fer yeh ter eat, if yeh want," he added blandly, though his eyes twinkled. "The door jus' on the right there."

"Thank you, Hagrid," Sirius said dryly. The two friends started to head for the door, passing a family of red-haired children whose mother was scolding the older boys for staring.

"He's just a boy, same as Ron, and I don't see you goggling at _him_, now…"

"But, _Mum_, it's…"

"I don't care if he's Merlin himself, William Arthur Weasley, you don't _stare_ at people!"

"Dad!"

"Do as your mother says, I happen to agree with her."

***

"Sirius, Remus, it's been a while," Dumbledore greeted calmly as he looked up from his tea. "Come in, take a seat, have something to eat. Close the door, would you, Hagrid? You're welcome to join us."

"Evening, sir," Sirius said, sitting down on a chair and settling Harry on his lap.

"It's a most convenient thing, Sirius and Remus, that you have arrived here tonight," Dumbledore said, taking a treacle tart from a tray. "I arrived here intending only to have a small bite to eat before returning to Hogwarts. I usually refrain from consuming large amounts of food in the week immediately preceding the Christmas feast in order to more fully enjoy it. However, when I ordered only a single tart and a tea, Tom brought me all of this." He made a sweeping motion with his hand over the laden table. "He must have some Hogwarts house-elf in him, for they also have a most curious habit of supplying one with far more food than one is capable of consuming."

"Very curious, indeed, sir," Remus said with a slight smile as he, too, sat down. Something told him that Dumbledore had been expecting them.

"Eat!" Harry demanded again, little fist banging against Sirius' arm insistently.

"I daresay you might enjoy some roast beef, Harry?" Dumbledore said with a sparkle in his eye, handing a small plate of bite-size pieces to Sirius. "I myself don't particularly care for it, but I _do_ recall your father inhaling rather disturbingly large amounts of it at the start of term feasts." He smiled when Harry eagerly started to eat.

"Yes, James _did_ have an affinity for Hogwarts roast beef," Sirius said with a vague smile. "What did you want to talk to us about, sir?"

"Ah, so Hagrid told you that, did he?" Dumbledore asked, his tone turning serious. "I _do_ have a matter to discuss with you both. And seeing as there is no better time than the present… it is on the subject of Peter."

Sirius and Remus both tensed. "Has he been caught?" Remus asked sharply.

"I would _love _to get my hands on him," Sirius growled.

Dumbledore sighed. "No. He hasn't been caught. He's nowhere to be found."

"What?" Sirius and Remus exclaimed in unison.

"That's it, I'm killing any rat that comes within a hundred yards of my house," Sirius said, tightening his hold on Harry protectively. "Each and every one of the filthy little vermin."

"We're keeping an eye out, Sirius, but I just thought I'd keep you two in the know for this," Dumbledore said. He paused when something scrabbled into the room underneath the door.

A thick-bodied rodent of some kind skittered across the floor and took refuge under the table. Immediately, Remus seized it and took a good look at it.

"Wrong door, Peter," he said coldly. The rat squeaked and writhed in his tight grasp.

"Kill it," Sirius said. "Kill it now."

Just then, however, one of the younger red-haired boys – about six or so, with horn-rimmed glasses – dashed into the room. "I'm sorry, sirs," he gasped out, reaching for Peter. "My rat ran away on me. Scabbers, you silly thing, come back here."

"May I ask when you got the rat?" Remus asked, not releasing the rodent.

"Only a month or so ago," the boy replied uncertainly. "I found him in the garden. Mum said I could keep him so long as he didn't chew the furniture because the furniture's chewed enough from Fred and George. I wanted a pet because Bill saved up his pocket money forever to get his owl, and I rather wanted something smaller and less expensive because I don't get pocket money yet. May I have him back, please?"

"Percy, I told you to get your rat and leave these people alone," his mother scolded as she appeared in the doorway behind him. "Oh, hello, Professor Dumbledore."

"Good evening, Molly," Dumbledore greeted, getting to his feet. "It appears that your boy may not get his rat back. You see, we have a strong suspicion that it is a Death-Eater in disguise, and before we give it back, we'd like to confirm it."

"Gracious!" Molly exclaimed, pulling the wide-eyed little boy back against her legs. "Well, do confirm it, then. If it is indeed a Death-Eater, I am certainly not letting him anywhere near my children! See, Percy, I told you no good comes from wild animals. Go back and finish your dinner now."

"But I want Scabbers back," Percy objected.

"I said _go_, Percy Ignatius Weasley!"

***

More excitement circulated through the pub as Peter was escorted out by no less than five Aurors, handcuffed and head low to avoid the photographers who had flocked there.

The horrified little Percy apologized over and over again to Sirius and Remus. "I honestly didn't know…"

"I know you didn't," Remus reassured him, resettling Harry's sleepy weight in his arms. "Don't dwell on it. He's been caught, that's what matters. Next time, though, I suggest you save your pocket money and buy your pets from a store." Percy nodded.

The two older boys were caught between horror and delight. "Think of how _famous_ we're going to be after the holidays are over," the younger hissed to the older. "_Everyone's_ going to know us. We'll be on the front page of the _Prophet_, we will."

"Because we were harbouring a Death-Eater, you idiot," the older said. "That's hardly a good thing to be famous for. People get thrown in Azkaban for that."

Percy let out a terrified squeak. "I'm not going to Azkaban, Dad, am I?" he asked fearfully. "I didn't _know_…"

"Thank you, Bill, for that brilliant statement," Arthur groaned. "No, you're not, Percy. They don't throw little boys in Azkaban for mistakes."

"Are you _sure_?" Percy persisted.

"Loads of Death-Eaters in Azkaban," one of the twin boys said sagely.

"Loads and loads," the other agreed.

"Percy in Azaban," the smallest boy, who looked the same age as Harry, said.

"_No_, for goodness' sake!" Molly exclaimed.

Dumbledore smiled softly. "Well, Percy," he said. "I think a little boy catching a Death-Eater deserves something better than Azkaban."

Percy's eyes widened. "May I have a prefect badge?" he asked eagerly, making the group burst into laughter.

"In about nine more years, Percy," Molly laughed, ruffling his hair.

"No, unfortunately, I can't give badges away," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye, "but perhaps I can wangle a children's Order of Merlin."

Percy's face lit up. "Oh, that's even better. I like that."

"I'll see what I can do. Enjoy your Christmas, everyone," Dumbledore chuckled. "I must be getting back to Hogwarts. Bill, Charlie, I'll see you after holidays."

***

Harry giggled madly as he reached for another brightly wrapped present.

"He's already spoiled senseless, you know," Remus commented. "You didn't need to get him all of those."

"Oh, most of these are just empty boxes wrapped up," Sirius said with a laugh as he watched Harry burrow into the growing pile of wrapping paper. "He likes the outside better than the inside, any way."

"Brilliant, old chap, brilliant," Remus laughed. "Hey, where'd Harry go?" he asked cheerfully, pretending not to notice the wiggling mass of paper. "I can't find him."

Giggling, Harry surfaced. He shrieked as Remus scooped him up into his arms and smothered him in kisses.

***

Yawning enormously, Harry snuggled deep into Sirius' arms, wrapped up in his favourite blanket and clinging tightly to a new teddy bear.

Smiling softly, Sirius sat back in his armchair, feet up, and watched his little godson sleep. It was the first Christmas in nearly five or six years that he hadn't had James there. And yet somehow, it felt as though he _had_ been there, in some fashion.

Harry didn't cry for them now. Sirius knew very well that Harry wouldn't remember a single solitary thing about his parents by the time he was 4 or 5. This life, this life with Sirius and oftentimes with Remus as well, would be what Harry knew. He would grow up motherless, fatherless, but definitely never loveless. Both Sirius and Remus adored him with every fiber of their being. Sirius would sooner die than let anybody hurt Harry.

***

"So, Harry, what are you looking at?" Sirius asked, crouching down behind Harry. Harry was standing at the window, watching a young woman move in next door with great interest. "Ah. Not even two, and you're already girl-watching. Figures. She _is_ good-looking, I'll grant you that." He eyed the slender brunette with interest as well, but quite a different sort of interest.

***

"Oh, hello!" the young woman called cheerfully as she got up from her seat on the front porch. "You live just in this house here?"

"Yeah," Sirius answered, looking up momentarily from where he was helping Harry build a little snowboy. "I take it you're the new neighbour?"

"You take it right," she said with a smile. "Jenny Prescott. Hello," she cooed when Harry managed to get through the snow to approach her. "Aren't you the handsomest little boy I've ever seen."

"That's Harry," Sirius said. "He's my godson."

"Oh," Jenny said, still talking to Harry. "So I suppose _we're_ not going to be neighbours, then. That's a shame. You're really cute."

"He lives with me," Sirius said, only a brief waver in his voice as he said it. "His parents were killed in October."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jenny replied. "How old is he?" She laughed when Harry tripped and landed in the snow.

"He's just under a year and a half," Sirius answered, scooping Harry out of the snow and setting him on his feet again.

"Oh, they're so sweet when they're that age," Jenny said fondly. "My nephew's just about a year and a half as well, but they live way out on the Scotland border, I don't often see them."

"Sius, pay," Harry said eagerly, scooping up a fistful of snow and depositing it in Sirius' hand. "Make a snowman fo' me."

Sirius smiled and started rolling a little snowball along the ground. "All right, then."

"He has great language skills for being so young," Jenny commented. "It takes most boys until they're 3 or 4 to develop that sort of ability with words. I'm a speech-and-language therapist, I know these things."

Sirius laughed and helped Harry make another ball. "Takes after his smarty-pants mum and dad," he said with a grin. "He was starting to say words when he was 10 months old. Lily nearly fainted with shock."

"Lily being… his mother?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah," Sirius said. "He's all James – that's his father – except for the eyes. His eyes are Lily's."

"Really?" Jenny asked with interest. "That's funny. What was her surname?"

"Maiden name was Evans, why?" Sirius asked suspiciously.

"I thought the eyes looked a little familiar," Jenny said thoughtfully. "I went to primary school with a girl named Lily Evans. She had these gorgeous red curls, and these really green eyes, my mum used to say she looked like some sort of Celtic princess."

"Well, Lily _did _have red hair, but that's not a really uncommon name," Sirius pointed out. "Could be coincidence."

"We were sort of school chums. Then she got accepted to some school for the exceptionally gifted or something like that the year we were due to start secondary school, and I only saw her a little on holidays after that." Jenny sighed. "Haven't seen her in years, though, apparently she graduated early and moved out. Last time I saw her… that might've been close to two years ago, when her parents died. She came with a dark-haired guy. Glasses, kind of looked a little like you, actually."

"You know, I think we're talking about the same person," Sirius commented, catching Harry before he tumbled again. "She have a sister, your Lily?"

"Yeah, horrid witch of a woman," Jenny said darkly. "Petunia. Married some bigwig driller or something."

"Definitely the same person, then," Sirius said. "Lily used to tell us all horror stories about her sister."

"Well, fancy that, it's a small world after all," Jenny laughed. "So you went to school with her?"

"Yeah," Sirius replied. "We were in the same dormitory house. Her husband was my best friend. She was prefect with my other best friend."

"Hmm," Jenny said. "I'm sorry, so what was your name?"

"Sirius," he replied.

"Sirius, like the –"

" – like the constellation, yeah," Sirius interrupted. "It's a family tradition. I had a father named Orion, an uncle named Cygnus, a cousin named Andromeda…"

"Tell you have a normal-enough surname," Jenny laughed.

"Black," Sirius admitted with a nod.

"Aymus!" Harry shrieked suddenly, wriggling out of Sirius' grasp and dashing to greet Remus, who was coming over. "Aymus, pick me up!" He reached up eagerly and was immediately accommodated.

"Oh, you're all snowy, Harry," Remus laughed. "Have you been playing all afternoon?" Harry nodded happily and wiggled down again.

"Come pay," he insisted, tugging at Remus' trouser leg. "Come pay with me."

"Yes, I'm coming," Remus said. "Hello," he added to Sirius with an inquisitive look at Jenny.

"Remus, this is my new neighbour, Jenny," Sirius said with a slight smile as Harry quickly convinced Remus – in almost complete sentences – to build a little house for Sirius' snowman. "Jenny, this is my friend Remus. He's here a lot. You'd almost think he lives here."

"I take that back," Jenny said to Sirius as she watched Harry. "He has _incredible_ language skills."

"Don't know why, his whole vocabulary's just sort of exploded in the last few months," Remus said.

"It's not just the vocabulary," Jenny corrected. "It's sentence structure as well. He talks more like a three- or four-year-old."

"Make it bigger," Harry ordered.

"You're a show-off smarty-pants, you know that?" Remus told Harry as Jenny shook her head in sheer amazement.

***

"Remember that all women are scum, Sirius," Remus reminded him quietly as they went back inside. "No matter how pretty they are."

"Merlin, but she's gorgeous…" Sirius groaned, banging his head lightly on the wall.

"The prettier they are, the scummier they are," Remus countered.

"Right, scummy," Sirius said, distracted by watching Jenny as she greeted what looked like a friend or two outside. "All women are scum."

"You're hopeless," Remus said with a shake of his head.

"Yeah, hopeless," Sirius echoed. "Merlin, but she's gorgeous…"

"All right, Harry, hit him. Hit him hard," Remus said with a smile, and Harry happily obeyed.

***

Sirius groaned as he heard the knock on his front door once more. "Merlin, Harry, if that's Jenny again…" he said to the little boy playing on the floor. "Can you look?"

Harry got up and toddled over. "Jenny," he affirmed.

Sirius sighed and got up from his chair, stuffing the _Prophet_ under a cushion. "Keep that frog on the ground, Harry. Don't let it jump." Opening the door, he said to the sheepish young woman, "You must have one hell of a wrecked house. What else could you possibly fix that you haven't already?"

"I'm sorry," Jenny said apologetically. "It's my car, actually, not my house this time. It's making sort of weird noises. I'll feed you dinner if you come look at it," she added hopefully.

Sirius mumbled a curse under his breath. "Women were never meant to live on their own, honestly…" He sighed again. "All right. I'll be there in a few minutes."

***

"Okay, try and describe the sound," Sirius said wearily. Merlin, Muggles were such a bother with these things. One poke with his wand and he'd have it fixed, but _no_, he had to do it the _long_ way.

"It sort of makes a growly sound when I start the car," Jenny offered, carrying Harry and his teddy bear on one hip.

Sirius grumbled something indistinct even to himself and randomly yanked a wire. 'Probably not the smartest thing to do.'

"Sius fix it," Harry said confidently to Jenny.

***

"Are you a jack-of-all-trades, then?" Jenny exclaimed, a little miffed, as Sirius took over making dinner once he'd fixed the car.

"Nah, that's Remus," Sirius said with a slight grin. "I've just been living on my own since I was 17. There are certain things you pick up with time."

"17, eh?" Jenny asked, watching him from the table as she played with Harry. "That's young. Orphaned, or…"

"Nope," Sirius replied. "Took off, got kicked out, whatever you prefer. When I was 16. Not entirely sure if I left or they kicked me out, to tell the truth. Lived with Harry's dad's family for a year, and then struck it out on my own."

"Oh," Jenny said uneasily.

"Well, thanks for having us over," Sirius said as he retrieved Harry to go back home.

"Thank _you_," Jenny said gratefully.

Internally, Sirius groaned. Merlin, she was too gorgeous to ignore.

***

"Aw, Sirius, you didn't," Remus groaned.

"I did," Sirius replied sheepishly.

"You _are_ hopeless!" Remus exclaimed as he laid Harry down in his crib, tucking the blanket in around his chin. Turning the light out quietly, he pushed Sirius back out into the hallway. "Didn't we both agree that all women are scum?"

"Yeah, but…"

"Merlin…" Remus muttered. "Think with your brain, not your testosterone, Sirius. How long do you figure it's going to be before you let something slip, or Harry says something or does something? You want your own Sarah?"

"Who says that's what she'd do?" Sirius mumbled.

"Sirius, I hate to break it to you," Remus sighed, "but you're from two completely separate worlds. It's not like a pureblood going out with a Muggle_born_, Sirius, they've still got the magic. Wizards with Muggles are a complete disaster waiting to happen."

"Not always. Some of them work without the Muggle ever realizing," Sirius countered.

"What, like Theresa Sandwater?" Remus asked. "Didn't even tell her husband about being a witch until _after_ the wedding? I hear he was furious she'd kept him in the dark, she's damn lucky he didn't divorce her!"

Sirius sighed. "You're right, Remus, it was a stupid thing to do."

"Just be careful, Sirius."


	6. The Best of Both Worlds

**Chapter 5: The Best Of Both Worlds**

Sirius watched the scene with a smile on his face. Jenny had insisted yesterday that they go shopping for new clothes for Harry. As usual, he'd complied and now Jenny was reading a storybook with Harry, having dressed him in one of his new outfits.

Harry was clearly enjoying having yet another person to spoil him, and he had quickly learned how to impress Jenny: language. New words, new phrases, all eagerly presented to her for approval.

"And the wolf said, 'I'll _huff_, and I'll _puff_, and I'll…"

"Blow your house down!" Harry shrieked happily. He giggled as Jenny tickled him and said,

"That's _right_, Harry. Aren't you the smartest two-year-old in the whole world?"

There came a knock at the door. "I'll get that," Sirius said to Jenny. He went to the entranceway and opened the door to see Felicity. "What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.

Felicity tossed her hair and tried to slide past him into the house. "I came to see _you_."

"Why?"

"Because," Felicity answered silkily. "Can't a girl go see a body anymore?"

"I'm not buying it, Felicity," Sirius said. "What are you _really_ here for?"

Felicity sighed. "Listen, Sirius," she replied. "I was a bit immature last time we were together. I should've realized that you weren't going to give up custody."

"Yeah, well, that epiphany came about half a year too late," Sirius said coolly. "_Goodbye_, Felicity."

"It's never too late," Felicity persisted.

"Yes, it can be, and it is," he said. "Goodbye."

"Sirius, is something wrong?" Jenny asked, appearing at his side suddenly. She looked at Felicity suspiciously and only relaxed slightly when Sirius put a reassuring hand on the small of her back.

"No, Felicity was just leaving," Sirius said with a warning glare at Felicity, who was getting a very nasty look in her eyes.

"May I ask where you finished school?" she asked Jenny, and Sirius' heart stopped.

"University?" Jenny asked. "Brighton."

"Really?" Felicity said, turning to Sirius. "Sirius, I didn't think you dated out of our kind."

"Felicity, leave now," Sirius said tightly.

"Of course, I suppose it helps when they don't have the faintest idea who they're dating," Felicity continued maliciously. "I'll leave." And she did, leaving Jenny looking at Sirius suspiciously.

"Damn it, Felicity…" Sirius muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not done all the bleeding paperwork yet."

"Sirius, what's going on?" Jenny asked.

Sirius muttered another curse under his breath and sighed. "Come back into the sitting room, Jenny."

***

"You're a _what_?" Jenny said disbelievingly. "Sirius, this isn't the time for jokes."

"Really wish I was joking, Jenny, sweet," Sirius said. "But it's the truth. Born and bred, pureblood wizard."

"Magic isn't real, Sirius," Jenny started to say, when Sirius took out his wand and levitated Harry's blanket in the air, leaving the tail low enough to Harry to chase delightedly around the room as he directed it. "Good Lord… And Harry, too?"

"Well, technically he's halfblood, but yeah, he's a wizard too. And a damn good one too, once he starts school." He smiled and swung Harry up onto one hip when the little boy crashed into his legs.

"School for the exceptionally gifted, huh?" Jenny said dryly. "That was some cover story. Nobody would have believed her otherwise."

"The _very_ exceptionally gifted Muggleborns, any way."

"Muggleborns?"

"People who come from non-magic families, like Lily. Don't ask me why they call non-magic people 'Muggles', because I haven't the faintest idea why."

"So then what makes Harry halfblood?" Jenny asked.

"He's got Muggle grandparents. You don't qualify as pureblood until it's been magic for three generations. And even then, we've got some families like my parents that think you're only properly pureblood if it's been centuries, even millennia since non-magic blood came in."

"Are you serious?" Jenny asked in disbelief.

Sirius nodded. "Remember when I told you I got kicked out at 16?" He sighed. "Had a bit of a disagreement with my parents. I wasn't the son they expected. I didn't care about purity of blood, I didn't get into the right dormitory house…"

"There's a right and a wrong dormitory?" Jenny questioned, taking Harry from him.

"Well, historically, the Hogwarts – that's the magic school here – houses have been fairly steady in the types of people they get. My family was almost completely Slytherin – that's the nasty house, turns out the most Dark wizards than any of the others. And I got Sorted into their mortal enemies' house, Gryffindor."

"Good Lord…" Jenny muttered again. "So what was the woman going on about, don't know who I'm dating?"

Sirius sighed. "Well, I told you that Harry's parents were killed. What I didn't tell you was that the Dark wizard who killed James and Lily tried to kill Harry as well, but couldn't and then disappeared off the face of the Earth. Harry was an overnight celebrity. That's where his scar came from, the night James and Lily were killed. I expect Felicity realized all of a sudden how advantageous it would be to date the godfather of Harry Potter."

"Who is she, any way?" Jenny asked, but she was interrupted by the front door banging open.

Sirius swore softly and stepped in front of her as no less than five strangers in robes and cloaks came in. "Just wait," he said quickly to the newcomers. "I'm almost done the paperwork, something came up unexpectedly and I had to tell her sooner than I'd planned."

"Where's the paperwork?" one woman asked.

"In the study, down the hall," Sirius replied, allowing one of the men to disarm him and holding his arms up for him to pat down. "Inside the writing desk in the corner. It's marked 'Ministry'."

"Good Lord…" Jenny repeated, watching the whole scene unfold. "This night can't possibly get any weirder."

"Oh, believe me, miss, this is nothing," one man said dryly. "We see far weirder on a nightly basis."

"All right, found the permits," the woman said, coming back. "Just got one last page left to complete?"

"Yeah," Sirius replied. "I can finish it now, if you'd like. I'm sorry to have pulled you away for no good reason."

"That's quite all right, Black," the woman replied. "Dedalus Diggle and Alastor Moody have been keeping us hopping around the country all night. It was nice to see somebody different."

"Merlin," Sirius muttered. "I think they _both_ went nutty in the war."

"What came up, exactly?" another man asked briskly.

"Had a malicious ex-girlfriend drop by and make insinuations that I had to explain," Sirius replied with a sigh, pocketing his wand again and taking Harry back from Jenny.

"Who?" the man asked. "She can get charged with breaking the Statute of Secrecy. We have paperwork, all of our world knows better than to do something like that."

"Felicity Raughman," Sirius said.

"Oh, _Merlin_, not her again."

"Listen, Black, you don't need to do all the paper tonight," the woman said. "Just make sure it's back at the department within the week."

"All right, thanks," Sirius said.

***

"Merlin, I hate paperwork…" Sirius muttered to himself as he leafed through the book once more. "Where was the damn page, I _had_ it marked…"

Jenny laughed softly from across the table, watching him while she rocked Harry. "Got in a little over your head?"

"You have _no _idea how much paperwork you entail," Sirius said darkly.

"But am I worth it?" she asked coyly.

"I won't know until it's done," Sirius replied shortly. "If it ever _gets_ done."

"Oh, it'll get done," Jenny said. "You ought to see my office sometime, now _that's_ paperwork to be done."

Sirius mumbled something unintelligible under his breath, and Jenny laughed again as she stood up. "I'll be right back, I'm just putting Harry to bed," she said. "I find it fascinating that you can actually write with a quill and parchment."

"I find it equally fascinating that you can _use_ that crazy pen thing," Sirius retorted.

***

"So teach me," Jenny said into his ear as she returned. Sirius glowered at her momentarily, but then sighed and set down his quill. "I'm sorry, you're fascinating."

"Apparently," Sirius said wryly. "C'mere, then. What do you want to know?"

"_Everything_," Jenny replied.

***

"I thought all women were supposed to be scum," Remus said with a slight laugh as he rolled Harry's rubber ball across the back lawn to him, while Sirius was watching them.

"I can't help it. I'm a glutton for punishment," Sirius said. "Honest, Remus, I think it's not 'all women are scum', it's 'Sarah and Felicity are scum'." He sighed. "I can barely imagine how I ever lived without her." He trailed off. "Y'know, I think we might've been a little too hard on James about Lily. Remember? In seventh year, when we kept ragging on him about being addicted?"

Remus stopped what he was doing and looked at Sirius. "You love her," he said simply. Sirius paused for a moment and then nodded. "Well, then, by all means, don't let me stand in the way of your gluttony."

"Remus!" Harry ordered, chucking his ball at Remus' head to get his attention.

Remus and Sirius both laughed and returned their attention to the little boy.

***

Jenny's jaw dropped as the reality of what Sirius had just asked sunk in. "Are – Are – Are you _serious_?"

"Would I ask if I wasn't?" Sirius said, starting to feel a little anxious. Too much, too soon? He had been dating Jenny longer than James had been with Lily when he'd proposed, but was it maybe different when one wasn't living in a war zone?

"Am I going to make more paperwork for you if I say 'yes'?" Jenny asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"No, not really," Sirius admitted in relief when she laughed and kissed him.

***

"Sirius, _really_," Jenny laughed, prying Harry off of him. "You can't hide behind the little boy forever. Eventually you have to meet my family. I promise they're nicer than yours."

"That's not hard to do," Sirius muttered darkly.

"Oh, calm down," Jenny said, knocking at the front door. "You'll both be fine. Lisa's boys are Harry's age, he'll have a blast. And I swear nobody bites. Well, Dennis has apparently started to, but he's teething, we can hardly blame him."

Sirius sighed. "The things I go through for you," he grumbled good-naturedly when the door opened and an older woman greeted them with a broad smile and a hug for Jenny.

"Come in, come in," she said breathlessly. "Lisa and Michael and the boys have just arrived. You must be Sirius." Sirius nodded silently, taking Harry back from Jenny when his godson showed the first signs of upset at the volume. Any loud voice or noise tended to make him uneasy.

"Aunt Mae, Aunt Mae, you're smothering them," Jenny said quickly, squeezing Sirius' arm briefly in reassurance. "Let Sirius and Harry have some air. They're hardly used to being here yet."

"Ah, so _this_ is the Sirius and Harry we've heard so much about," said another older woman as she appeared from the doorway to the kitchen. "Mae, you want to come help Lisa and I in the kitchen a moment?"

A young man maybe a little older than Sirius came out from the sitting room, with a boy just a little younger than Harry trailing behind him. "You're Sirius, then?" he asked, grinning when Sirius nodded. "Michael Creevey, I'm Lisa's husband. Welcome to the circus."

"Daddy, up!" the boy whined, tugging at his trousers. Michael laughed and swung the toddler up onto a hip. The little boy, intrigued by the appearance of an eye-level potential playmate, reached out his hand to Harry. Harry, in response, burrowed himself deeper into Sirius' shoulder, almost trembling with fright.

"Colin, no," Michael scolded gently, as Sirius tried to calm Harry to no avail – he wasn't keen on this whole crowd-of-strangers thing and he wasn't about to let up. "I take it your boy's a little cranky today?"

Sirius sighed. "He's not used to new people and places. Especially in combination, and multiple new people. Crowds frighten him."

"Surely he's used to lots of people, though, if he's been in daycare?" Michael questioned.

Sirius looked at him momentarily and tried to remember what he could and couldn't say. "I work from home, so he's never been in daycare," he replied finally, letting Harry settle his head against his shoulder. He had been lucky – the work he did with the Ministry could easily be done from home, he could only imagine the nightmare it would've been to try and find somewhere safe for Harry to stay otherwise.

***

Jenny's family all peppered him with curious questions throughout dinner, while Harry still resolutely refused to move an inch from his security in Sirius' arms. He wouldn't even go to Jenny when she tried to take him from Sirius, bursting into his usual tears and clinging to Sirius desperately.

"Is he always like this?" Lisa asked with a frown, watching Sirius soothe Harry once more.

"Just around larger groups," Sirius replied distractedly. "He's all right until it reaches about three people. Then he starts panicking."

"Is there any reason _why_, or is it just his personality?" Isobel, Jenny's mother, asked.

Sirius sighed. "For the first few weeks, maybe months, after James and Lily died, we used to get mobbed whenever we went out. I expect that's probably what's gotten him so frightened." He declined to mention any details, or that they still got mobbed every time.


	7. A New Life

**Chapter 6: A New Life**

"Maybe the whole wedding-ceremony thing was a bad idea, Remus," Sirius said with more than a hint of panic in his voice as he fiddled with his tie. Remus had Harry up in his arms, trying to calm the toddler down – the change of routine and the crowds outside weren't convening themselves to Harry's liking. "I mean, there's no way in the magical or Muggle realm that Harry's going to remain calm through the whole thing. And it'll look a little horrible if you have to beat it out the side doors five minutes in…"

"Sirius, you're panicking," Remus said calmly. "Don't make me hit you like you had to hit James."

"I am not panicking, and James wasn't either, he was in full-fledged terror."

"It'll be fine, Sirius, calm down," Remus repeated, passing Harry to him. "He's two and a half, nobody's going to be expecting him to behave like an angel."

"Except that Jenny's painted him a perfect child, and her _entire_ extended family believes he's Merlin, back from the dead, or whatever the Muggle equivalent is," Sirius replied with a sniff of disgust.

"Where's Jenny?" Harry asked through a subsiding sniffle. "We see Jenny?"

"Soon, Harry," Sirius soothed.

***

"I'm sorry, Jenny, that you didn't get a real honeymoon," Sirius apologized softly into her ear that night as Jenny was putting Harry to bed. True to Sirius' prediction, Harry had kicked up a royal fit about five minutes in and had calmed down only in the few hours in between the ceremony and the reception. He had promptly restarted his tantrum at the reception, causing them to have to end a little earlier than planned – Remus' current position had him working nights, what was certainly going to become an issue come full moon tomorrow, and Sirius simply didn't trust anybody else with Harry.

"I wasn't expecting one, Sirius," Jenny said, tucking the blankets in tightly. "I understand that there's simply too much at stake with Harry to risk it."

"You deserve one," Sirius said again, arms wrapped around her waist. "I think I insulted your mother and your aunt when I turned down their offer to watch him."

"They'll never understand it, Sirius. The rules of the game are so much different than anything they can imagine. Don't worry about it – _I_ know the reasoning." She twisted around and smiled softly as he leaned in to kiss her.

***

Sirius walked into the house at 5 AM on the morning of October 31, 1982 to the sounds of Harry screaming. Jenny, from the sounds of it, had likely gotten up to head to work early, and was desperately trying to sooth Harry.

Groaning, Sirius followed the screams into Harry's room, where Jenny was helplessly rocking Harry. "Here," he said with a sigh, reaching for Harry.

"I'm sorry, Sirius, you've had a long night," Jenny apologized even as she handed Harry over. Sirius had been out at Remus' last night for full moon, had only just arrived back home. "I've just got so much paperwork to do today…"

"Don't worry about it, Jenny," he replied, giving her a quick kiss while Harry continued to rock back and forth, little hands pressed against his forehead and tears running down his cheeks as he screamed again. "We'll see you tonight. Have a good day at work." Holding Harry, he asked, "Harry, what's wrong? What's the matter?"

Harry didn't answer but continued to scream.

Sirius frowned as he watched Harry. He hadn't seen Harry act like this in a year, not since those first few days after…

Today was the first anniversary of James and Lily's murder.

"It's all right, Harry, nobody's going to hurt you here," Sirius soothed, holding Harry tightly against him. "You're safe, he's far from here, Voldemort's gone. I know it hurts…"

***

By the time Jenny had gotten home from work that afternoon, Harry had been crying off and on all day, clinging to Sirius and basically getting in the way of Sirius accomplishing anything much.

"Looks like you didn't get much more work done than I did," she said dismally, plucking Harry out of his lap. "Well, we've got a dinner to get to, remember? Mum was having a birthday dinner for Colin and she keeps hoping that maybe this time Harry will play with him?"

"Right, that was why we both wanted to get work done today," Sirius groaned, leaning back in his chair and staring hopelessly at the paperwork. "Great."

"It'll do us both some good to get away from work for a while, Sirius," Jenny chided gently.

***

They arrived at Jenny's mother and aunt's house shortly before dinner was due to start. Jenny got a warm hug and greeting, Harry got a cheerful, exuberant greeting that he promptly started freaking out at (no matter how many times Jenny and Sirius told them not to jump at Harry like they did with Colin and Dennis, Mae and Isobel just wouldn't listen), and Sirius, as usual since the wedding, got a cordial 'hello' and a somewhat frosty reception.

Sirius shot an exasperated look at Jenny once Mae and Isobel's backs were turned and rubbed Harry's back comfortingly.

"You know," Isobel said pointedly, "he wouldn't be frightened of his own family if you'd leave with us a little more often."

"Or at all," Mae added, always the more tactful sister.

Sirius bit back a retort that would earn him the couch as a bed. Once again, Jenny tried in vain to smooth things over. Harry stubbornly refused Colin's eager attempts to draw him into play with some toy cars, burying himself into Sirius' arms with his security blanket. Lisa, too, sent Sirius a rather disapproving look as Colin burst into tears and ran to her.

Somehow feeling like he was 14 and sitting in number twelve, Grimmauld Place again, Sirius sighed and resettled Harry against his chest. As Harry's small fingers started close around Sirius' wand (hidden inside his jacket – Harry had a newfound fascination with wands lately), Sirius gently disentangled them and pulled his hand out again. The last thing he needed tonight were Obliviators barging in to wipe Jenny's family's memories. Or worse yet, Death-Eaters.

Sirius' heart stopped. The Death-Eaters. Not all of them were in Azkaban. If ever they were going to try to get at Harry, it would be tonight: the first anniversary of their master's defeat; and he had taken Harry away from the security of their home.

He turned his attention back to Harry as he heard Harry whimper in pain again, pressing his hands to his forehead. 'His scar must really be bothering him,' Sirius thought worriedly, gathering Harry more securely into his arms as Harry started to rock again.

Jenny shot a worried look at Sirius, while the rest of her family looked more disturbed than worried. He sighed and squeezed her knee reassuringly before he stood up to take Harry out for a while.

"Jenny," her mother said in a low voice as Sirius left, "have you taken Harry to see a doctor? That's not natural, that behaviour. There is something seriously wrong with that boy…"

Sirius heard Jenny sigh. He had already taken Harry to see the Healers at both Children's andSpell Damage at St. Mungo's today and they couldn't find an explanation beyond that it must be a side effect of his curse scar. He wouldn't take Harry to the Muggle doctors – what could they tell him that the Healers couldn't? Besides, Lily had once explained the way Muggle doctors treated their patients. It was sheer madness, how any parent could subject their children to that was beyond his understanding.

"Sirius took him in to Emergency today," Jenny lied. "They can't find anything wrong. It must just be a headache."

"Jenny, I'm telling you, that's not normal from a two-and-a-half-year-old. Get him assessed."

"It's the first time it's happened, Mum," Jenny said. "Doctors said bring him back if it persists." That much was true. Spell Damage had said to bring him back if the behaviour persisted beyond a few days and they'd see what their options were. Mostly, they'd told Sirius that Harry's case was unique and he would just have to try and deal with it on his own.

"Sirius…" Harry pleaded, the first time he'd been able to speak during these bouts of pain all day, though significantly reduced from what he normally used. "Sirius… hurt head."

"Yes, I know your head hurts, Harry," Sirius soothed, rocking him.

"Sirius… make stop." Harry moaned in pain again and buried his head against Sirius' neck.

"I'm sorry, buddy, I can't," Sirius whispered. "I wish I could."

"Want stop, Sirius," Harry begged. "Please…"

Sirius sighed. He had brought a little bit of children's strength Calming Draught laced with a mild painkiller that the children's Healer had given him earlier ("to at least calm him enough to sleep"), but he was hoping not to have to resort to that again today. Harry had already had a dose this morning at St. Mungo's, and the draught tended to make him look a little zoned out.

"Want draught, Sirius," Harry said desperately. That settled the issue for Sirius – if his two-and-a-half-year-old knew that he wanted the Calming Draught and said so explicitly…

"All right," Sirius ceded, going to get the small vial from inside Harry's bag. He unscrewed the lid and tipped the contents into Harry's mouth. "There you are," he said gently, waiting until Harry had swallowed before he put the lid back on and slipped the empty vial back into his bag.

Harry sniffled and cuddled back into Sirius' arms, laying his head down on his shoulder.

"Well, whatever you gave him certainly worked," Michael commented as Sirius came back in with Harry's sleepy weight settled on one hip. "That must've been some kind of sedative Emergency gave you. Regular children's Tylenol just doesn't work that fast."

"Sedative with a little bit of painkiller," Sirius confirmed quietly, letting Jenny take Harry from him. "Hospital prescription."

There came a knock at the door just then. "Oh, that must be some more trick-or-treaters," Mae said cheerfully. "I'd have thought they were finished by now. Jenny, would you mind getting that? These old bones just don't want to get up."

Sirius shot a confused glance at Jenny. What strange kind of Muggle custom were they going on about _now_?

Jenny bit back the urge to laugh hysterically. "Later," she murmured to him as she stood up and left. She came back a moment later with a slight frown. "Sirius," she started to say. "Remus is here, he says it's urgent."

Sirius frowned back at her; it had to be urgent if Remus was coming down here and risking the awkward questions from Jenny's family. Nodding, he got up and went outside, where Remus was waiting on the front step.

"Sirius, the free Death-Eaters are out tonight," Remus said quickly and quietly. "They've been going around the country all night, attacking both our kind and Muggles. They penetrated the protection at your place. It's up in flames."

Sirius blanched.

"I wouldn't be hanging around here for much longer if I were you," Remus added. "Who knows how long it'll take before they find you here?"

Sirius nodded grimly. "Thanks, Remus."

"You need me to hang around?" Remus asked.

"I may need your help," Sirius agreed. "I don't know what I'm going to do for Jenny's family."

"We need to get moving –"

"Sirius, Remus, what's going on here?" Jenny asked quietly, coming outside with Harry still sleeping in her arms. "Mum's asking awkward questions, and I don't know what to tell her."

"The Death-Eaters are looking for us," Sirius told her softly. "Or more specifically, looking for Harry."

Jenny paled. "Death-Eaters as in the evil wizards?"

"The very same," Remus confirmed. "Some of them escaped imprisonment."

"So now what?" she asked, looking at Sirius expectantly, who sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"I don't know," he said finally. "I don't know what we _can_ do."

"Well, we _can't_ stay here," Remus cut in. "What's the matter with Harry?" he asked worriedly as he took Harry from Jenny. "He's never asleep this early in the evening."

"Had to give him Calming Draught," Sirius said quietly. "He's been having pains in his scar all day. Or at least that's what Spell Damage thinks."

"My mother thinks he's mentally subnormal now," Jenny said dryly.

"As many questions as I would _like _to ask about that," Remus said, "we just don't have the time. We may have to leave your family here, Jenny, we don't have the time or resources to get them out. The Death-Eaters might decide that they won't know anything, and not bother coming."

"Everybody in our world knows that the only place Harry goes is to me and Jenny or to you," Sirius said. "You're right, Remus, we have to go _now_."

"But where?" Remus asked.

"Well, don't look at _me_, I don't bleeding have the answers!" Sirius replied testily.

"Sirius, calm down," Jenny said.

"Oh, easy for you to say, you don't know what these guys are capable of," Sirius snapped.

As Jenny opened her mouth to snap something back at him, Remus cut in, shifting Harry's weight in his arms again. "Guys, hold off on the marital dispute until we're somewhere not quite so exposed."

***

_What_ had she gotten herself into one month ago, the day she'd said, "I do"? Jenny shook her head internally as she listened to Sirius and Remus bicker rapidly about things she had no knowledge of: charms and curses and jinxes and Apparition and what not. She had long since reclaimed her stepson from Remus, cuddling with him in the quiet of the London flat they'd escaped to momentarily: supposedly this had been one of the residences that Harry's grandparents had owned.

Harry was still out cold from his medication, though he was starting to stir. His peaceful, measured breathing comforted her: if there was one thing in whole mess she could understand, she could understand him. His adorable little baby face, his warm little baby body in her arms as he slept. For the next ten years, anyway, she would be able to understand him.

"We can't stay here, Remus, it's too obvious!" Sirius hissed.

"_You_ have a better idea, then?" Remus snapped back. "We can't go to the one place they wouldn't _dare_ try breaking into!"

"Why not?" Jenny spoke up.

"Because you can't get in there," Sirius replied tensely. "Hogwarts can't be seen or penetrated by Muggles. And I'm not leaving you behind, you're too perfect of a target."

"Oh, thank you for that display of affection," Jenny muttered.

"This is ridiculous," Remus finally proclaimed. "Why are we arguing with each other?"

Sirius sighed. "I don't know." His voice was tired, defeated as he sank into a nearby armchair. "I should've just let Dumbledore take him to his aunt and uncle," he mumbled, running his hands through his hair. "He had more protection there than we'd ever be able to give him."

Harry started to wake up just then, yawning as he sat up in Jenny's lap. Looking around, wide curious eyes frightened for a moment at the unfamiliar surroundings, he relaxed when he saw that it was the only unfamiliar part. The little boy climbed down from Jenny's lap and wandered over to Sirius, climbing back up with some difficulty. "Sirius," he whispered eagerly as he wriggled securely into Sirius' arms. "Sirius, come play."

"Not right now, Harry, stop it," Sirius said wearily, distancing himself from his godson and pushing his hand away as Harry tried to reach for his wand.

Remus quickly scooped Harry into his arms as Harry's eyes filled with tears and said tremulously, "Sirius is being _mean_."

Sirius glared at Remus. "You taught him that phrase, you know."

"Yeah, I know, he _is_ being mean, isn't he?" Remus soothed, his wand securely out of Harry's reach. "Just because for once, he's realized that he can't do everything…"

"Remus, don't _make_ me curse you," Sirius growled.

"I'd like to see you try," Remus returned calmly, steadying Harry as the little boy attempted to reach his wand at his hip. "For goodness' sake, Harry, why the newfound fascination with wands? Merlin, I know what I'm getting _you_ for Christmas."

Harry laughed and tried again, green eyes sparkling with delight.

"Sirius?" Jenny asked softly, letting Remus handle Harry for the moment.

Sirius shook his head. "I don't know, Jenny. I don't know what to do."

"Well, we've put up the security," Remus said. "Let's ride out tonight here, and we'll see what tomorrow looks like."

There was an odd sort of chime that went through the apartment, and Sirius and Remus both looked at each other with undisguised fear in their eyes.

"Who is it?" Sirius called. A thin, disembodied voice said,

_"Albus Dumbledore."_

Both men visibly relaxed. "Enter!" Remus called and there was a brief shuffle before the fireplace lit up with green flames and an elderly man came out, dressed in dazzling purple robes.

Jenny thought for sure that her jaw must've grazed the floor. "He _did_ just walk out of the fireplace?" she asked Sirius, who didn't seem at all perturbed by people coming out of the fireplace.

"Of course," Remus replied, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "How else do you expect him to get here from Hogwarts? Can't Apparate in."

"I'm sorry," she said dryly. "I don't often see people walking out of fireplaces. It's not a very convenient or easy way to enter a building."

"Not a particularly pleasant way to travel, either," the man said to her, eyes twinkling, "particularly after one has just finished consuming rather disgustingly large amounts of food from the Halloween feast."

"How did you know where to find us, sir?" Sirius asked, standing up.

"My dear boys, I thought you would go where it was safest. There's as much security on this flat as there is at Hogwarts." He smiled at Harry. "Ah, young Mr. Potter, we meet yet again." Harry watched him interestedly from the safety of Remus' arms. "Now, Sirius, Remus, we have matters of business to discuss."

"What's being done by the Ministry, first of all?" Sirius asked, accepting Harry from Remus when his godson stretched out his arms to be held.

"The Ministry's official stance is that they're treating it like a Death-Eater attack."

"So basically, they're sending a couple of inexperienced Aurors and hoping that the Order will cover them," Sirius summarized. "It's wonderful to know that the government has such concern for its people."

"Alastor has been organizing defence all night," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "However, he's severely lacking in Order Aurors now, ever since the Longbottoms were decommissioned. We're looking at some recruitment from the Auror Department, but right now Alastor doesn't have as much confidence in them as he did in Frank and Alice."

Harry interrupted just then with a yawn. "Sirius, can we go to bed now?" he asked.

"Come here, Harry," Jenny said, taking her stepson from her husband. "I'll put you to bed. I don't understand a word of this conversation any way."

"No, I want Sirius!" Harry said insistently, reaching for Sirius again.

"I'll put him to bed in a moment, Jenny, it's all right," Sirius said, taking Harry back. "What are we supposed to do, Dumbledore? I don't want to be repeating this whole chaotic scene every time there's a breath of a threat. Harry still needs some semblance of a normal life."

"Hopefully, _ideally_, tonight would be the last of it," Dumbledore sighed. "If the Ministry and the Order can round up the last of the free Death-Eaters."

"And if it's not?" Remus asked. "They broke through the security on Sirius and Jenny's place tonight. What's to stop the Death-Eaters from doing it again, and next time Sirius and Jenny and Harry are actually home?"

"I don't know, Remus," Dumbledore said quietly. "It's a rather unique situation, if you haven't noticed."

"We can't spend the rest of our lives in hiding," Sirius said.

"Stay here for tonight, until we know how this whole catastrophe ends," Dumbledore replied. "I'll come back tomorrow to let you know." With that, he disappeared back into the fireplace, saying, "Hogwarts."

"What about work, Sirius?" Jenny spoke up suddenly. "I have appointments tomorrow…"

"I'm sorry, darling, we can't risk you leaving. Out of all of us, you're the most likely to get attacked," Sirius said quietly. "I don't think you're going to be able to go back."

"At this rate, we'll probably end up having to change names, change residences, Jenny," Remus explained as Sirius went to go put Harry to bed. "Right now, Harry and Sirius are just too well-known in our world. To stay in England even, we would all be stuck here for who knows how long."

Jenny fell silent.

***

Sirius sighed as Jenny rested her head comfortably into the hollow of his neck, her body nestled against him. Harry was fast asleep in James' old room, Remus in the spare bedroom.

He had irreversibly screwed up all of their lives that night, the night he had taken Harry. None of this would've happened if he had just let Dumbledore do his thing: Harry would be safe, Jenny would be safe, Remus would be… well, he wouldn't be trapped in here with them.

Harry's insistent cries came just then. "Sirius! Sirius!"

Rolling away from Jenny, he got up and went to take Harry back to bed with them – that often seemed to work when Harry couldn't sleep. "Hey, buddy." He came back into the master bedroom, laid Harry down on the bed and then tried to go back to sleep as Harry snuggled into his arms contentedly. "Love you, kiddo," he whispered, brushing away a lock of unruly black hair.

Harry sleepily echoed, "Love you."

Sirius smiled softly. "And I haven't a clue why."

***

Harry was giggling happily as he munched on the cereal Jenny had put in front of him.

Jenny kept glancing at her watch worriedly; if Dumbledore came soon and told them it was okay to go, she might still make her 10 o'clock appointment.

"Stop looking at your watch, you're making me nervous," Remus said, twisting his spoon around anxiously in his oatmeal.

"Both of you, calm down," Sirius said. He flicked his wand irritably at the toaster and caught the toast as it flew out.

"Would you stop it with the wand, that's very unsettling," Jenny replied tersely.

"Get used to it, you married a wizard," Sirius replied shortly, buttering his toast.

"The both of you, stop it," Remus ordered. "It'll do you no good to bicker."

"It makes me feel better," they both replied in terse unison.


	8. When All You Know Ends

_**Chapter 7: When All You Know Ends**_

Jenny watched the quiet, desperate whispered conversation between the three men with a certain degree of anxiety, distractedly passing Harry toys as he demanded them.

"_No_, Jenny, not the ball, the _frog_!" Harry whined, pulling at her sleeve. "Jenny, you listening?"

"Yes, Harry, I'm sorry, the frog, I know," Jenny said, returning her attention to him for the moment.

"See my frog, Jenny?" Harry said gleefully, setting it down in front of her. The little toy quivered for a moment and then started hopping around very realistically. Despite herself, Jenny started to laugh, trapping the toy in her hands as she picked it up and it continued to kick. "Just like real, right?"

"Yes, Harry, just like a real frog," she replied, setting it down again. "You know, Colin and Dennis' toy animals don't move."

"'Cause they not magic, Jenny," Harry answered semi-disdainfully. "I not allowed my toys at Colin house." He left her to ponder that for a moment, then said confidentially, "You know what?"

"What?" Jenny asked.

"When I big, I going to have a wand," he told her. Harry got to his feet after that statement and started wandering back towards Sirius, reaching up insistently to his godfather. As Sirius obliged and swung Harry up into his arms, Jenny joined them hesitantly.

"What's going on?" she asked softly.

"They're still out there," Remus replied quietly.

As she looked from him to her husband, Jenny asked, "So what does that mean?"

Sirius sighed. "It means we're going to have to leave."

* * *

"This is ridiculous – Sirius, you guys are _wizards_! Can't you fix everything? Put security charms or something on the house, wipe people's memories…"

Sirius paused in the middle of his rocking – Harry was going down for his afternoon nap. "It's not as simple as your Muggle fairytales make it seem, Jenny," he replied quietly. "The other side can do magic too, you know. Disguising charms only work for short periods, and a skilled wizard can see through them, the right spells can undo them as soon as you step into them. There's not a spell in the world to wipe an entire planet's memories, and especially not something like this. I had the best security charms in the world on our house. Security charms can be broken through and deactivated, just like your alarm systems – "

"Would you stop saying 'your' like we come from two different worlds, Sirius?" Jenny exclaimed frantically. "My God, you act as though we don't both live in the same – "

"Like it or not, Jenny, we _do_ come from two different worlds!" Sirius burst out angrily. "And I don't know about yours, but in my world, people _die_ if they ignore the dangers!"

Jenny ran her fingers through her hair, shaking her head. "My _God_… My _God_… I can't deal with this. I can't. I just can't. I-I-I've married into the bloody Twilight Zone."

* * *

"I won't tell you 'I told so'," Remus said quietly as the two friends stepped into the dark, silent room apprehensively. The rooming house's landlord had been a little too casual in giving up the keys with no questions asked.

"Shut up, Moony," Sirius growled, resettling Harry's dead weight against his shoulder. "I want my bike."

"You want Jenny to come back, is what you want," Remus corrected softly.

"I said shut up, Remus!" Sirius snapped. Harry stirred at his raised voice, letting out a soft whine of discontent.

"Go to sleep, Sirius…" he mumbled sleepily. "No more arguing."

"All right, all right," Sirius murmured to his little charge. "I'm sorry, buddy."

* * *

The next morning, Remus woke up to see Sirius still fast asleep on the other side of the bed (the room had only one king size; they'd ended up splitting it – they were tired, damn it, and screw whatever anybody walking in would think), Harry tucked securely into his arms. Smiling slightly, he got to his feet and went to open the curtains.

Sirius didn't even stir as the sun hit his face, and Harry kept right on sleeping, his face shielded by Sirius' head. Remus shook his head and nudged Sirius cautiously. He had a temper when he was woken early. "Hey, Sirius. Wake up."

"G'way…" Sirius groaned drowsily.

"Sirius. Get up, now," Remus repeated, nudging him again, a little more firmly.

"G'way, s'too damn early…"

"It's 10 AM, Sirius, and we need to get going." Remus went around to the other side of the bed, prying out Harry from Sirius' arms. "Come on."

"No… no, sleep time, Remus…" Harry whined, even as he nestled down against Remus' shoulder, closing his eyes and popping his thumb into his mouth. "No waking up."

"Yeah,_ you_ can keep sleeping," Remus told him with a slight laugh as he finally shoved Sirius off the bed none too gently with his foot. "Sirius Nigellus Black, get your lazy ass up and moving."

"Jenny's _nice_ to me when she wakes me up," Sirius mumbled drowsily as he sat up, rubbing at his eyes. Then the room went deadly silent again. "But you, unlike she, are in for the long haul, so all right, then. Give me my kid. Where are we headed?"

* * *

Jenny got to her office at about 2 AM, having spent the night sobbing at her mother's house. She couldn't bring herself to go back into her own house, where the reminders of Sirius and Harry would hammer at her conscience.

Had they done the right thing, splitting apart like that? She returning to her normal life, back to her world of consults and assessments while he took Harry and went on the run? Had she made the wrong choice, abandoning her wedding vows: _for better or worse…_

Sighing, she dimmed the lights in her office, leaving just enough to read by, and pulled out a pile of week-old progress reports. First on the list would be Rachael. Her mother would be bringing her in for another appointment at nine this morning. Then Nicholas, and Damion, and Anna…

She worked without disturbance for about an hour, until she heard the door open behind her.

* * *

Remus had wondered how long it would take before Sirius changed his mind and went back for Jenny. As he passed Harry another toy, he kept an ear tuned to the door of his home.

"Remus, where Sirius?" Harry asked, getting to his feet and heading for the window.

"Harry, come away from the window," Remus said quickly, pulling his unofficial godson back by the hand. "Sirius went to go find Jenny. Come back here, don't stay by the window."

"Why?" Harry asked, though he obediently did as he was told. "Jenny get lost?"

"No, no, Jenny isn't lost," Remus replied quickly. "She just didn't come with us when we left. Sirius went back to get her, they'll be here soon."

* * *

Jenny whirled around to see a group of dark-hooded figures in the doorway. Heart stopping, she said, more bravely than she felt, "Can I help you with something?"

One figure stepped forward, and a well-manicured man's hand emerged from the sleeves of its robes. "_You're_ Jennifer Black?" came the condescending drawl from beneath the hood.

"That's the name on the door," Jenny replied, backing up slightly. "Who are you?"

"Married to Sirius Black?" the man repeated, a skeptical tone in his voice.

"That's right," Jenny said.

"It's an _outrage_!" a woman's voice shrieked from one of the other figures. "A disgrace to the family! A _Muggle_?!" She strode past the first figure, her hood falling back, and she put a tight hand around Jenny's throat as she shoved the young woman back against the wall.

Jenny struggled to free herself as the woman's flinty grey eyes examined her face, the blood-red lips pursed in a disgusted expression and jet-black hair cascaded elegantly down her back. She had to be some sort of relation to Sirius. "Let me go," she rasped.

"I don't even understand what's so special about this Muggle," one of the other figures, a man, spoke up.

"Rodolphus, we are talking about the family cast-off," the woman said icily. "He consorts with all sorts of disgusting creatures. Blood traitors, Mudbloods, werewolves… Muggles." She eyed Jenny again. "Merlin, I feel the need to bathe just _knowing_ a Black's been with her."

"Let her go, Bellatrix," came Sirius' steely voice as he pushed through the other men. "Before I drive your mind from your head like you did to Frank and Alice."

The woman dropped her hold on Jenny carelessly, letting the young woman crash to the floor. "Well, Sirius, it's been a while. Life been treating you well?"

"What do you care, Bellatrix?" Sirius growled as he pulled Jenny to her feet and placed himself in front of her protectively. She leaned her forehead against his back, trying to control her breathing. "Aurors are on their way." He paused as Bellatrix grinned. "Sure, you can kill me. But you can't escape. This place is guarded against Apparition and Floo. I've sealed the exits. They'll only open for the Aurors. Do you want to add another hundred years onto your Azkaban sentence?"

* * *

Remus sighed as he lifted Harry's sleepy weight up into his arms again, looking out the window worriedly. "Come on, Sirius, where are you?" he murmured, scanning the empty horizon. "We can't risk staying here much longer…"

Harry stirred just then, and he cast another look at the toddler wrapped around him possessively. How was it possible that fear and disaster followed this innocent little boy everywhere he went? First James and Lily, then Frank and Alice, now potentially Sirius and Jenny? What had he done to deserve all this tragedy before he was even 3 years old? Nothing seemed to make any sort of sense anymore.

Finally, Remus turned away from the window and flicked his wand at the radio, turning on music as he sank down into a chair. If Sirius hadn't arrived by sunrise, they would go.

_"That was Ruharah with 'A Vampire's Kiss'. Now for a breaking news flash from the Ministry of Magic. A Muggle office building in London has exploded in what Magical Law Enforcement is calling a 'wizarding-related event'. While officials aren't sure who is responsible for the explosion, the bodies of a number of known Death-Eaters and two other unidentified people were recovered from the debris. Magical Catastrophes is on-scene distracting Muggles._

_"The office building was the location for a Muggle therapy clinic run by Jennifer Black, the Muggle wife of wizard Sirius Black. Speculations are that the unidentified bodies are in fact the Blacks. If so, the new question is: who has Black's two-year-old godson Harry Potter? There has been no comment from any of Black's acquaintances – Headmaster Albus Dumbledore has repeatedly requested that the media leave the family and friends alone, and there has been no success in reaching known companions…"_

Remus snorted slightly. "Trying to avoid saying my name?" he muttered, even as he closed his eyes. They couldn't stay any longer, not if they were in imminent danger of being swarmed by the media. "All right, Harry, let's go," he murmured, careful not to disturb the sleeping little boy.


	9. What Choice Do You Have?

_**Chapter 8: What Choice Do You Have?**_

_When all you know ends, what choice do you have but to begin again?_

_Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire (November 30, 1982):_

"The nearest town is an hour's drive south," the elderly man repeated, still looking askance at Remus as the young man reached out to catch the toddler careening past him. "No neighbours around before you reach the town limits."

"Harry, stop that," Remus ordered as Harry laughed and tried to climb the walls again. "That's perfect, sir. I like my quiet. Harry James Potter, you stop that this instant!"

"Don't know what a young man like yourself wants with total isolation, but I've been looking for a buyer for years on this property," the elderly man finally said. "When can you move in?"

"When can you move out?" Remus replied, finally hoisting Harry back up onto his hip when the toddler showed no signs of obeying his earlier command.

***

_Lee-on-the-Solent (December 25, 1982):_

"Remus," Harry asked again as he trailed along behind his guardian throughout the house. "Remus, where's Sirius? Remus…"

"Sirius is gone, Harry. Go play with your toys for a while," Remus told him tiredly.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked again, ignoring Remus' quiet order. "Remus…"

"Harry, Sirius is gone," Remus repeated irritably. "Stop pestering me."

Again, Harry asked, "Where's Sirius, Remus? Where'd he go?"

"For Merlin's sake, Harry, enough already!" Remus finally exclaimed. "I've told you at least ten times today! Sirius is gone, he isn't coming back, and neither is Jenny, so stop asking!"

Harry stopped, eyes wide. "No…" he whined. "They not gone!"

"Yes, they are!" Remus replied.

"No…"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake, Harry…"

***

_Lee-on-the-Solent (July 31, 1983):_

"Remus, wake up!" came a delighted squeal as Remus was very rudely awakened at an ungodly hour of the morning. "Remus! Remus, wake up, it's my _birthday_!"

Remus groaned, pulling his blankets up and over his head. "Go back to bed, Harry. It's too early…"

"No, it's not!" Harry insisted, giggling as he tugged at the blankets. "Get up! You promised a trip!"

Moaning again, Remus reluctantly uncovered his head, casting a suspicious glance out his bedroom window. "Oh, Merlin, Harry, the sun isn't even up yet…"

"Come _on_!" Harry repeated. "It takes long to go to London!"

"Not that long," Remus muttered rebelliously, though he got out of bed. "All right, then, Harry, go get –" He stopped when he realized Harry was already dressed. "All right, go wait at the kitchen table while _I_ get dressed –"

"I already had breakfast, Remus," Harry informed him, bouncing from foot to foot excitedly.

"How did you –" Remus started to ask in outrage, before he shook his head. "Never mind. I don't want to know."

***

_Diagon Alley, London:_

"Morning, Remus, Harry," Henry greeted them as Remus tightened his grip on Harry's hand. "I trust I find you well today?"

"About as well as any other day, Henry, thank you," Remus replied quietly. "Can we get our usual table, please?"

"Absolutely, Remus, no troubles," Henry assured him, leading them to their usual quiet corner table. "Well, I hear it's a young man's birthday today."

"I'm sure it's _somebody's_ birthday, Henry," Remus agreed with a slight smile as Harry grinned happily.

"It's _my_ birthday, Henry," he said.

"Mmm, no, I think it's somebody else's," Remus said with a laugh as Henry rolled his eyes and went back to the kitchens. "Think it's that boy over there. Think it's _his_ birthday today."

"_Nooooo_, Remus, it's _my_ birthday," Harry insisted, climbing up onto his chair. "I'm _three_, Remus."

"Really?" Remus asked with a straight face. "That's serious, turning three. Shouldn't do it."

"Don't be _silly_, Remus," Harry laughed, leaning on the table with his elbows. "I can start nursery in September, right? I'm old enough now."

"We'll see, Harry," Remus replied. "Maybe you will, maybe you won't."

"Oh, _can't_ I, Remus, _please_?" Harry pleaded. "They'd all be Muggles," he offered. "And I'd be perfect behaved…"

"We'll see, Harry."

***

He felt Harry attach himself to his leg when people started whispering, the little boy ducking beneath the safety and anonymity of his cloak.

Sighing, Remus put a hand on the back of his charge's head, directing him carefully through the foot traffic in Diagon Alley. "Come on, it's all right," he murmured. "Nobody's going to get you on my watch."

Harry whispered something against his leg, voice muffled by the fabric. Stopping, Remus knelt down and gently detached the boy. Lifting him up into his arms, he said, "All right, say that again."

"Can we go home now, Remus?" Harry repeated, setting his head down on Remus' shoulder. "I don't like it here anymore."

"Sure, Harry," Remus agreed.

***

_Lee-on-the-Solent (September 1, 1983)_

"_Remus_!"

Remus groaned as Harry banged on his door yet again. "Merlin…" he muttered drowsily, shoving his head beneath his pillow again. "I knew it was a big mistake to teach him to read a calendar. Go to _sleep_, Harry, it's midnight!"

"It's _September_ _1__st_, Remus!" Harry shrieked.

"Go to sleep!"

"I start school today!"

"Not for another nine hours, go to bed!"

"Get up, Remus, get up," Harry begged, bursting into the room and tugging at his pillow excitedly. "I have to get ready for school, Remus."

"Merlin…"

"Come _on_, Remus!" Harry pleaded, eyes wide and bright with happiness.

"If you weren't so small and so cute…" Remus grumbled half-heartedly.

***

"All right, next on your learning schedule is how to tell time," Remus told Harry frankly, stifling another yawn behind his hand as the car turned another corner. "You can't keep waking me up at the break of midnight."

Harry merely grinned at him from the backseat, clinging to his schoolbag possessively. "Miss Sara will happy to see you again," he offered mischievously.

Remus rolled his eyes. The Muggle girl who worked at the town bakery and café had taken a liking to him – or more likely, to Harry's irrepressible charm. She was a nice girl, sweet enough to Harry. It was clear that the girl was angling for him to ask her out, but she had no idea what she would be getting herself into.

The irony of her name didn't escape his mind, either.

"Remus?" Harry asked after a short moment of silence.

"Yes, Harry?" Remus replied, looking in the rearview mirror at his inquisitive charge.

"Where do you think Sirius and Jenny are?" The little boy watched him innocently. "They're taking a long time to find us."

Remus sighed. No matter how many times he explained it, Harry just didn't understand that Sirius and Jenny were dead. That they weren't coming back, just like James and Lily. But then again, he and Sirius and Jenny were all that Harry knew. He couldn't grasp the concept of anything before them. James and Lily were nothing more than faces in a picture and names in a conversation to him.

"I don't know, Harry," he said finally, returning his gaze to the empty road ahead of him.

"Maybe they don't know where we live now," Harry suggested. "We should send them a letter."

"Maybe," Remus agreed vaguely.

***

"Good morning," Sara called cheerfully from behind the counter. "Hello, Harry!"

"I'm starting school today, Sara," Harry informed her excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet as she got him a chocolate chip muffin.

"Are you?" Sara asked. "That's exciting. Where are you going?"

"He's going to the school in town here," Remus supplied, passing the muffin to Harry. "I'm not sure that he needs any more energy. He's been up since midnight," he said with a smile.

"He'll crash at noon, don't worry," Sara laughed.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Remus said dryly. "Then he'll be up all night again." He paid her and shooed Harry off to one of the tables. "Go on, eat up, kiddo." He took a mouthful of coffee. "You've got to get to school, and I've got to get to work."

He watched Harry thoughtfully for a few minutes while he drank his coffee. Harry seemed happy enough to live a Muggle-like life. As Muggle as a couple of wizards could be, anyway. Maybe this was the key to keeping him safe, keeping him happy. Staying here, in this completely Muggle village, going to a Muggle school – at least until he was 11. It would let him have fun with other children his age – children who didn't treat him differently because of who he was. So far, his Muggle employer had remained oblivious to the nature of his condition – he had forced himself to go to work even when he was at his worst. One of the older women in the village came out once a month to watch Harry while he 'got away'. This life was working for them.

Maybe this was where they would stay.


	10. Little White Lies

**_Chapter 9: Little White Lies_**

Remus was waiting patiently outside the school for Harry, not far from another couple.

"I hope she made friends…" the woman said softly to her husband. "She's such an unusual child… I do hope that this one goes better than the one in London…"

"Hermione will find her place, Beverley," the man murmured. "Don't fuss."

A woman in her thirties, whom Remus recognized as the headmistress for the school, exited the school and called, "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Mr. Lupin, if I might have a word?"

Remus groaned in unison with the couple, muttering under his breath, "Merlin, what's he done now?"

The three adults entered the school behind the headmistress, who led them into her office just off the entrance, where Harry and a little girl approximately the same age were sitting in the chairs. Remus was slightly mollified to see Harry looking abashed, his eyes fixed very carefully on the unraveling laces of his trainers, rather than on Remus' disapproving expression. The little girl, on the other hand, looked terrified and maybe even a little confused.

"Harry, what have you done?" Remus asked quietly, kneeling down to retie the laces.

"I didn't do anything _wrong_, Remus," Harry insisted. "I only made a mistake, that's all. It's okay, Hermione," he added innocently, reaching over to squeeze the girl's hand. "They don't throw people in jail for making mistakes."

"I'm sorry, Mummy," the girl pleaded, eyes watching her mother.

"What happened?" the man asked the headmistress sharply.

"It seems that Mr. Potter and Miss Granger here," the headmistress began to say disapprovingly, "thought it would be an amusing pastime to melt together the zipper tags of a classmate's schoolbag so that he couldn't open it."

The little Granger girl's parents both had identical expressions of shock on their faces. The headmistress, on the other hand, was giving Remus a very piercing stare. He knew that stare. McGonagall used to give him that stare all the time – him and James and Sirius, every time something exploded, or stopped working, or began thinking for itself…

He ran the house's layout through his mind, trying to determine if Harry could've swiped something…

No. He didn't have anything that would burn, or at least not at that sort of temperature in that short a timeframe. They didn't have anything that Muggles would use for starting fires – did they? What had Professor Edwin called them in Muggle Studies – matches? No, they didn't have matches. He used his wand if he needed to start a fire. Spent enough years mastering that skill, and he was damn well going to use it…

"I assure you, if there were flammable substances involved, it did not come from my house," Remus said finally.

"Nor from ours," the woman agreed, a sliver of ice in her voice. "Perhaps you ought to have your teachers keep a better eye on their classroom drawers."

*~*~*

"Disgusting," the woman muttered to her husband as they left the building, holding tightly to her daughter's hand. "Imagine accusing an innocent child of such an act… As if my Hermione would do such a terrible thing…"

"Astonishing," her husband agreed.

"Does this mean I'm not staying here?" the little girl asked sadly.

"Why, sweetheart, did you want to stay here?" her mother asked.

"Yes," the girl nodded. "I like it here. I have friends here." She paused, looking back behind her again at Harry. "Are you coming to school tomorrow, Harry?" she enquired.

"Yes," Harry replied enthusiastically. "Aren't I, Remus?" he asked, looking up at Remus again.

"Of course you are, Harry," Remus said with a slight smile fighting to cross his face. "Can't very well just pull you out of classes, now, can I?" Rolling his eyes as Harry grinned at him happily, he was forced to pause when the little Granger girl's parents turned to look at him. "I suppose we should introduce ourselves. I'm Remus, Remus Lupin."

"Lupin?" the mother asked curiously. "I thought the headmistress said his name was –"

"No, Harry's last name is Potter," Remus admitted. "I'm his guardian. I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your names."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I don't know where my head's gone! Beverly Granger," the woman said, holding out her hand. "This is my husband, Mark, and my daughter, Hermione," she continued as Remus shook her hand.

"We've just moved here about a week ago, from London," Mark spoke up, shaking Remus' hand. "How long have you been here?"

"Just about a year, haven't we, Harry?" Remus said, laughing slightly as Harry nodded animatedly.

"We moved from London, too," Harry announced. "When Sirius and Jenny went away."

Beverly frowned slightly at him, and Remus explained quietly, "His godfather and godmother were killed in the building collapse last year."

"God, that's awful!" Beverly gasped, her hand over her mouth.

"I'd heard they were investigating the construction company that was doing the renovations, weren't they?" Mark asked.

Remus shrugged. "To tell you the honest truth, I don't pay attention anymore. After James and Lily – Harry's parents – I've decided we don't need to know every gory detail. Suing them until we're both broke isn't going to change what happened, and frankly, I don't like the concept of putting a price on somebody's life."

"Oh, do I even want to know what happened to his parents?" Beverly asked, glancing over at the children as they ran off into the playground together.

"They were killed close to two years ago," Remus replied. At Mark's disbelieving expression, he said dryly, "Yeah, it's been a bad couple of years."

"No doubt," Mark said with a shake of his head. "How did they die, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Murdered," Remus said shortly. "The police have asked me to keep the details quiet while they're investigating."

"They're still investigating? After two years?"

"Like I said, it's been a bad couple of years."

*~*~*

"Harry, you just can't be doing things like that," Remus said as he opened the front door. "I know you can't help it, but you have to try."

"But it wasn't _me_!" Harry protested. "It was _Hermione_!"

"Oh, sure, Harry, blame the Muggle," Remus replied with a roll of his eyes. "Very classy. Go get changed."

"But it _was_!" Harry insisted, voice trembling.

"_Go_, Harry," Remus repeated.

*~*~*

"Remus?" came Harry's tentative voice in the middle of the night.

Groaning, Remus buried his head under his pillow. "Not until the clock turns to 6, Harry," he growled drowsily. "Go back to bed."

"I know," Harry replied, climbing up onto the bed. "Can I come sleep with you?"

"Fine, just this once," Remus grumbled.

"I'm sorry, Remus," Harry offered, scrambling under the covers with him. "I didn't mean to be a naughty boy."

Remus sighed as the little boy nestled into his arms. "Oh, I'm not angry with you, Harry. We just need to be careful about magic happening while we're here."

"It really was Hermione, Remus," Harry yawned.

*~*~*

He was reading the _Daily Prophet_ at breakfast the next morning when he saw it. It was a small article, hidden in amongst the evidently more important stories about the Chudley Cannons' fifteenth straight loss this season and the growing number of forked-tailed Crups in London.

_NEW LEAD IN COLLAPSE DEATHS IN LONDON_

_Recently, investigators from the Department of Magical Catastrophes into the wizarding-related collapse of a Muggle building in London last year have uncovered a startling fact: there may have, in fact, been a survivor of the terrible tragedy, which – until recently – was believed to have killed five people._

_Investigators are now probing this latest discovery, and are not releasing details to the public._

"What are you reading about, Remus?" Harry asked, climbing up into his lap. "Can you read it to me?"

Remus looked at the wide, innocent eyes of his little charge and contemplated telling him the truth: that Sirius or Jenny might still be alive. Then he lost his nerve. "Look at this, Harry, the Chudley Cannons lost their game last night."

"They haven't won any games," Harry said, watching the Keeper in the photo dive wildly at the Quaffle. "They aren't playing very well. Remus, can I have a broom?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "No, not until you're 12."

"No, I want a broom_ now_," Harry told him frankly.

"Not until you're 12."

"But _everybody_ gets a broom when they're four, Remus," Harry said knowledgably.

"Well, you aren't four anyway, are you?" Remus answered with a laugh. "You know, I didn't get my first broom until I was 10. And _my_ father trained Quidditch teams for a living. You don't need a broom when you're four. Where would you use it?"

"Here," Harry answered immediately. "I'd play Quidditch on it. And at the World Cup."

Remus shook his head. "The World Cup isn't until 1986, Harry. You still have a few years to go, yet."

"But that's time to practice."

*~*~*

"So did you hear about that new find, in London?" George, one of Remus' Muggle coworkers, asked everybody in the lunchroom.

"You mean the building collapse?" Victor asked. "Yeah, astounding, isn't it?"

"No way a building just goes to the ground like that," Bernard said with a shake of his head. "And no way a person survives a collapse like that."

"I haven't read the paper yet this morning, what's going on?" Remus asked carefully.

"The investigators looking into the collapse say that it looks as though the foundation was in severe disrepair. They're amazed it stood as long as it did," George explained, just as Bernard added,

"And now they think some lucky jackass walked out of that destruction."

"That'd be some lucky jackass," Tom laughed. "Practically magical, if you ask me."

"What makes them think somebody walked out, anyway?" John asked curiously.

"Something stupid and ambivalent like a hole in the rubble big enough for a person to have wriggled out of," Bernard replied dismissively. "Can't believe they're going public with something like that. I mean, think of the victims' _families_ –" He stopped as the men all looked at Remus. "Oh, God, I'm sorry, Remus. I completely forgot…"

"It's okay," Remus sighed. "I'm used to it."


	11. Grasping New Realities

**Chapter 10: Grasping New Realities**

When Remus came to pick up Harry from school, he found his young charge talking animatedly to his new little friend.

"You're telling fibs!" Hermione was gasping.

"No, really," Harry insisted. "The _fireplace_."

"Who do you think you are, Father Christmas?" Hermione demanded. "People don't travel in _fireplaces_, that's just silly. You'd burn right up."

"Well, it's not _really_ fire."

"Harry, what tales are you telling Hermione?" Remus asked warningly.

"He _says_ you travel in fireplaces," Hermione said stubbornly. "I _told_ him he's being silly."

"Harry, not the fireplace story again," Remus sighed. "You ought to know better than to start talking about things like that. Apologize to Hermione for telling tales, and let's go home."

"No! I'm _not_ telling tales, Remus, I'm _not_ apologizing for _not _telling tales."

"Let's go," Remus ordered again, picking up Harry's bag from the ground. "Come on, in the car."

"But I'm _not_ telling tales!"

* * *

"If you can't keep our magic a secret, Harry, then I'll have no choice but to take you out of school," Remus warned at dinner. Sighing, he reached over and cut Harry's meat into smaller pieces as he studied Harry's quizzical expression. "You know that you go to school with Muggles, bud. Hermione can't know about the magic we do here."

"Why not?" Harry asked. "Hermione's magic too. I seen her do it…"

"Harry…" Remus repeated warningly. "What have I told you about telling tales like that?"

"Why don't you believe me?" Harry demanded indignantly. "I told you. Hermione's just as magic as me."

With another exasperated sigh, Remus said, "Fine. When you get your Hogwarts owl, _then_ you may tell Hermione you're a wizard. Until then – keep the magic here, please. Eat your dinner."

It was only a few minutes of amiable silence before a knock sounded at their front door. Frowning, Remus paused a moment to make sure he wasn't hearing things. The knock came again, more forceful this time, and Harry piped up helpfully, "I think somebody's at the door, Remus."

"Real genius, aren't you?" Remus said dryly, ruffling Harry's hair affectionately as he got to his feet and headed for the front door.

"You know what? Miss Anderson says if I stopped making mischief and I started working with my brain, I'd be really smart," Harry recounted cheerfully, sliding off his chair and following behind Remus. "It's not very fun, though, to not make mischief. And it's not like I _try_ to make mischief, Remus, it just sort of happens…"

Remus barely restrained the snort of laughter on that comment. He opened the door, Harry still chattering away, to reveal Albus Dumbledore standing on the doorstep, a serious expression in his eyes. "Oh, hello, Professor."

"Who are you?" Harry asked immediately, poking his head out from behind Remus' legs. "Why are you all the way out here? People don't come out here ever."

"Harry," Remus rebuked softly. "Go back into the kitchen and finish eating. Let me talk to Professor Dumbledore alone for a moment."

"Professor?" Harry asked brightly. "Do I get to start Hogwarts, then?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly at Harry's question, replying, "No, Master Potter, not quite yet. Do you think I might be able to speak with Remus alone for a minute?"

"Go finish dinner, Harry," Remus repeated. "I'll be there in a bit."

Sighing impatiently, Harry stomped back into the kitchen, and Remus turned to Dumbledore again. "What did you need to see me about, Professor?"

"Have you seen the papers today?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

Remus nodded, biting at his lower lip. "Do they know who…?" He stopped, glancing back towards the kitchen, where the sounds of Harry's utensils banging against his plate were echoing. "It would be nice to have…" He stopped again, a lump developing in his throat. After a few minutes of silence, he finally said, "He still asks for them. He doesn't seem to understand that they're…"

"We don't know yet," Dumbledore replied in a murmur. "The Ministry is working around the clock to find out what the situation is, and soon. I thought I'd come see how you were handling the news. Or the lack thereof, as the case may be."

"Oh, I doubt the Ministry will tell me anything," Remus sighed. "They want something to happen to Harry, so that they can lynch me with cause." He paused, seeing the understanding in Dumbledore's eyes. "Why do you think we're out here and not with our own people?" With a slight smile, he added, "Harry's busy trying to find magical friends wherever he goes. He keeps insisting that his nursery friend is a witch."

"Perhaps she is," Dumbledore chuckled.

Remus rolled his eyes. "I think Harry just likes to blame his magic bursts on somebody else. I mean, really, the child of two dentists – a witch?" After a moment of appreciative silence, he continued. "I can't keep him hidden away forever. It's not healthy, and I can't do it for long – or often – now that he's in school."

"Do you think that was such a good idea, Remus?" Dumbledore asked seriously. "A known wizarding child in a Muggle school? Especially a child as well-known as Harry?"

Remus sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It'll cause more questions to keep him at home, Professor. This is a small town. There's enough talk about the fact I'm a single man with guardianship of a small boy. If I start isolating him from the community, they will talk even louder. Besides, he needs socialization with children his own age. Do _you_ see any of the wizarding playgroups letting me in?" He sent a wry smile in Dumbledore's direction, and then turned back to the kitchen when there came a loud crash.

Harry's small face appeared around the corner of the doorway. "I'm sorry, Remus. I accidentally dropped the dishes."

* * *

"I have to say, I am _so_ glad Harry and Hermione are getting on so well together," Beverley beamed as they sat around a table inside the town café one stormy Saturday morning. Mark, Remus and Beverley were all sipping at strong black tea while Harry and Hermione were busy examining a new picture book that Hermione had gotten for her birthday. "It's nice to have her so happy in school. She hasn't had a good run of them lately."

"Why?" Remus asked, watching Hermione turn another page with a smile on her face. "She's so well-behaved. I can't imagine that her teachers wouldn't love her."

Mark sighed. "Well, I don't know that it's so much her actual behaviour… Strange things happen around Hermione when she gets bored or upset. Sometimes she does things and they can't be explained. Children who tease her end up trapped on the school roof. A teacher who was harsh with her nearly got struck by a bus that came out of nowhere. Toys that get confiscated end up in her school bag. You saw what happened with that boy's school bag their first day."

Remus' brow furrowed into a slight frown. Maybe Harry was on to something. "If we're going to be honest, Mark, I wouldn't be surprised if the bag was Harry's brilliant idea. He likes to cause mischief, that one."

"But you said…" Beverley started to say, when Mark interrupted her.

"Strange things happen around Harry, too, don't they? Things that can't be explained."

Remus laughed. "I get worried when strange things _aren't_ happening around Harry." He looked over at them, debating whether to let them in on the secret. Give them reassurance that their daughter wasn't a sociopath, a psychopath or deranged. "Hermione is far from being the only child these sorts of things happen around, Beverley. They're not necessarily a bad thing – it just means she's different."

Mark watched Remus for a moment, his eyes betraying the suspicion he must've been feeling. "Can you explain what that 'different' might mean for her later on in life?" he finally asked, confirming Remus' initial thought.

Remus paused, thinking over his options and the possible consequences from the Ministry as quickly as he dared. "Well, what I _can_ tell you is that her sort of 'different' will open up entirely new worlds for her," he finally said. "Unfortunately, I can't get much more specific with you right now, Mark. I wish that I could tell you everything, but some things you don't need to know quite yet."

The two men looked at each other for a long while, Beverley's gaze moving back and forth between them, until a shout of laughter from Hermione and Harry at the other end of the table interrupted them. When Remus finally laid eyes on them, it took him a moment to figure out why the two children had shouted: Hermione's picture book still lay open, but the once still pictures had begun to move, playing out an evidently silly scene from the story.

"What's going on down there?" Beverley called, getting to her feet.

Harry seemed to catch Remus' eye guiltily almost immediately, and quickly shut the book. "We were just reading a silly part, Mrs. Granger." He held the book closed, even though Hermione was frowning unhappily and trying to open it again. "That's all."

"Give me the book, Hermione Jean," Beverley said sternly. "What is so silly about that book? It's a book about birds." She reached over the children's heads and plucked the book up off the table. Flipping through the pages, she stopped on the page they had last been looking at and her breath seemed to catch in her throat. "Mark?"

Mark looked over at Remus once more before he got up and went to join Beverley.

Remus tried to resist the urge to groan and then cursed internally. After all of their talks at home about not doing magic outside the house…

Harry slithered out of his chair and climbed up onto Remus' lap. Wrapping his arms around Remus' neck, he whispered into his guardian's ear, "I just wanted to show Hermione what my books at home are like. I didn't mean to get us into trouble, Remus."

Sighing, Remus tried to figure out what to say. How was he supposed to be harsh on a 3-year-old boy who, really, shouldn't have much – if any – control over what his magic did? If it had been Sirius and Jenny in this situation, Remus really wouldn't have had so much concern over Harry's blatant use of magic in public Muggle places. But it wasn't Sirius and Jenny – it was him, and he knew that the Ministry wasn't even halfway to being as understanding when it came to children in the custody of werewolves. He was still quite sure that the only reason he still had Harry was solely because they had been lying as low as they possibly could out here – he didn't go into London very often with Harry. They had remained largely outside wizarding society, so the Ministry didn't see the point in expending time and resources chasing after a werewolf who wasn't causing trouble.

But now, with a Muggle family involved, they would be as likely to brand Remus a threat to wizarding society and either jail or execute him as to say, "Oh, well, Harry's only 3 years old. I suppose he wasn't really in control of his actions."

Mark was just in the process of saying, "… What… the… hell?…" when Remus caught sight of a group of somebodies Apparating across the street.

"Oh, crap," Remus muttered under his breath. "The Ministry. Just what we need in Lee-on-the-Solent right now. Because the werewolf and two child wizards weren't enough." He rubbed Harry's back absently when his young charge let out a terrified whimper. "Calm down, Harry. They're not going to do anything to you and Hermione. You're too little to know what you're doing."

The bell above the café door rang out just then and Remus turned around despite every good lick of sense he had telling him not to do it. His heart pounding heavily in his chest, he had a moment of relief when he saw Dumbledore bringing up the rear of the group. Evidently, the Ministry had some sort of watch on Muggleborn children so that things didn't get out of hand before the letters went out.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger?" spoke the witch at the head of the group as they stopped at their table. "Could we speak to you outside a moment?"

Harry didn't have as much trouble containing his terror until one of the other wizards looked over and his eyes widened. At the obvious recognition, Harry let out another horrified whimper and buried his face into Remus' shoulder. "Um, Mafalda?" the wizard said, tapping the forward witch on her shoulder.

"Who are you?" Beverley asked suspiciously. Remus supposed that the suspicion was only natural – even in decently-chosen Muggle attire, this group of witches and wizards look completely out of place in the little café. "How do you know who we are?"

"Mafalda, you might want to reconsider our course of action," the wizard who had spotted Harry and Remus said again.

"Geoffrey, when I want your opinion…" Mafalda started to say in exasperation as she turned towards them, then stopped in shock when she registered the other two people in the group. "Oh. Um… Well, that might explain a great deal."

"As I was trying to explain to you before we came, Mafalda," Dumbledore said patiently, his voice and eyes sparkling with amusement as he met gazes with Remus briefly, "the usual Ministry methods are not going to be terribly effective in this case." Stepping out of the group, he approached Remus and Harry with a smile. "Honestly, Remus, I really don't come out to see my future students quite so often as this," Dumbledore laughed.

Mark and Beverley both looked at Remus incredulously. "Do you know who these people are, Remus?" Mark asked warily.

Remus sighed and nodded when he saw no hint of worry in Dumbledore's gaze. "Yes, Mark. They're all right." He got to his feet and hoisted Harry up with him. "Shall we step outside for this discussion?" he asked Dumbledore quietly. "To be honest, I was just debating whether I should contact you."

Dumbledore laughed again. "Well, if I'm just as honest, Remus, I've been keeping an eye on the situation. It happens sometimes with the children that I need to 'give advance notice', if you can call it that." He turned to Mark and Beverley and smiled at them reassuringly. "It usually bodes quite well for the children when they _do_ begin school. I find they're usually some of the brightest in the class."

"You're… a teacher?" Beverley asked sceptically.

"Headmaster," Dumbledore said. "The others who came with me are from our department of education. Now, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, do you mind if we step outside and I'll explain everything about what's been going on with Hermione?"

"Oh, an explanation would be really bloody nice right about now," Mark muttered, even as Beverley was gathering up their belongings and getting Hermione into her coat. "I'm just about ready to check myself into a mental institution."

"Well, fair warning," one of the other wizards said jovially, "you may still feel like checking yourself into a mental institution when our conversation's done. My family had some trouble adjusting to the new reality."

"Great," Mark muttered again, and followed the rest of the group out of the café. "This sounds promising…"

Remus barely bit back the laugh, and then turned to Dumbledore. "This is strictly about Hermione, right?" he murmured. "I'm not sure that I'm entirely ready for them to find out… everything. Do you understand what I mean?" He watched his former headmaster with slight trepidation. If Dumbledore said that things wouldn't be divulged, he could trust it. If anybody else said it… "I mean, they're working from a Muggle point of view, Professor. It's not much better than the traditional wizarding view, you know?"

Dumbledore smiled back at him. "Remus, it is far more than their jobs are worth to discuss anything but Hermione with her parents." He paused, gentle understanding passing through his eyes as Remus visibly relaxed. "I would, however, _suggest_, Remus, that you talk to them in the reasonably near future. With the right sort of grounding, Hermione and Harry could be the start of a whole new way of thinking for our world."

Remus sighed. "I know. They're just so small right now. I hate to put too much pressure on them, you know?"

The group stopped just around the corner in a small alleyway. "Well, I suppose that I'll get this conversation started," Mafalda said quietly. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, my name is Mafalda Hopkirk. I'm in charge of the Office of Muggle Family Liaisons with the Department of Magical Education in the Ministry of Magic."

"You're say what now?" Mark exclaimed in disbelief.

Mafalda smiled slightly. "I'm a witch, Mr. Granger. So is your daughter." She paused and looked over at Remus, slight disgust in her eyes. Then she said, with only a minimal amount of stiffness, "Mr. Lupin, would you care to demonstrate?"

Remus raised an eyebrow at her. Did she really think he was that stupid? There was no way he was going to perform magic in front of Muggles, just so that Magical Law Enforcement could swoop in and arrest him. Like hell he was about to do that. She could damn well do the spell herself – she was authorized to be performing magic in front of Muggles. Hell, even Dumbledore could do it for that matter. Who in their right mind in the Ministry would arrest _Dumbledore_?

"Mmm, yes, I see your dilemma there, Remus," Dumbledore finally said after a few seconds of silence. "Well, since I am in some form connected to the Ministry, allow me." He withdrew his wand from his suit pocket and waved it without a word. Before Mark could even open his mouth to make a sarcastic comment, snow began to drift down through the air above them, though the streets around the corner remained just as empty as before.

Hermione shrieked in excitement. "Daddy, it's _snowing_!" she cried out, reaching out her hands to try and catch the tiny flakes as they fell.

"Indeed it is, Miss Granger," Dumbledore laughed.

"Wait, okay, back up a few steps there," Mark said in disbelief. "You're telling me that there's such a thing as magic in this world? That's absolutely preposterous." He pulled Hermione back towards him, as if attempting to shield her from the clear insanity in the air. "Remus, what is going on here?"

Remus sighed as he resettled Harry on his hip. "Mark, there's a separate society in this world where people with magical ability exist. Usually, most of us really don't venture out into this part of the world – the non-magic part, that is. But there's some children who are born with magical abilities to non-magic parents, like Hermione. Harry's mother was one as well. Others, like Harry, are born into our magical world."

"I… don't even…" Mark started to sputter, before Remus continued.

"Remember how you were telling me that unexplainable things happened around Hermione in her old schools?" Remus prompted. "Well, when children with magical ability are small and untrained, things like that tend to happen – even if they grow up in wizarding families. Things like that happen around Harry as well. In fact, I remember setting a plague of locusts on my brother's sport kit when I was 5 because I didn't like how much attention he was getting for it," he added. "That's where Professor Dumbledore's school comes in."

Dumbledore stepped forward at that point. "Mr. and Mrs. Granger, allow me to make a full introduction. My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I'm the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry here in Britain. My school is in charge of the magical education for every wizarding child between the ages of 11 and 17. Remus here was one of our prefects not so long ago, in fact." He smiled back at Remus, who rolled his eyes.

"It was further back than I care to remember, Professor Dumbledore," Remus replied. "Feels that way, at least."

"Ah, take from somebody who is truly old, Remus, it really wasn't that long ago."

"Okay, so let's say that what you're saying is true," Beverley said slowly, bringing both Dumbledore and Remus back to the conversation at hand. "What about primary school? Where do we send her for those years – you can't possibly be saying that children like this are completely unschooled when they go to secondary school?"

"Remus, do you care to answer that one?" Dumbledore offered. "Mafalda, I believe Remus and I can handle this, if you and your staff wish to head back to the Ministry. I believe Remus would quite appreciate it if you would file the necessary paperwork?"

Mafalda looked at them critically for a moment, before she finally answered, "That sounds good. Lupin, I'll file those awareness papers straightaway, then."

"Thank you, Ms. Hopkirk," Remus replied quietly. "Beverley, most wizarding children do get their primary schooling, but it's either done at home or they go to a regular school in the community, just like Harry and Hermione are right now. It's when the children move up to secondary school that they begin their magical studies. Wizarding children don't have any sort of advantage over Muggleborn children in that respect. It's simply a matter of cultural knowledge." He paused. "And that sort of thing, I would be happy to show Hermione some of the most basic pieces of knowledge before she and Harry go to Hogwarts. The currency, the terminology, that sort of thing."

"I mean, all Mark and I ever wanted for Hermione was for her to excel wherever she's placed. Is there something we can do to sort of, put her ahead or something of the sort?" Beverley fussed. "I'd hate to think that she's going to start secondary school already somewhat behind…"

Remus laughed. "Beverley, are you listening to me? Harry and I already live that lifestyle. I can teach Hermione absolutely anything that she'll need to know before she starts if that's what you want. She can read Harry's books and learn wizarding tales. I can even take her on our errands the next time we go to London and she can see the shops and how we travel. Heck, Beverley, we can even go to the school train platform beforehand – actually, that might be a smart plan. It's a bit disconcerting to get onto Platform 9 ¾ the first time."

"Could we go visit Hogwarts then?" Harry asked eagerly, perking up as the mention of the Hogwarts Express evidently pierced his consciousness.

Remus and Dumbledore both laughed. "No, Harry. We cannot go visit Hogwarts ahead of time. It'll take away all the fun of your first trip there," Remus said. "Beverley, honestly, I would've offered it as soon as she'd gotten her letter anyway."

"Actually, Mrs. Granger," Dumbledore added, ruffling Harry's hair affectionately, "Hermione is already at a great advantage over the other Muggleborn children in their year. She has access to the wizarding world ahead of time if she would like it. It's not many Muggleborn children that have that opportunity."

Beverley relaxed slightly at those words. "Oh, well, then… that would be wonderful, Remus. I wouldn't mind learning a bit myself." She paused momentarily. "Oh… does this mean that Mark and I couldn't come with her to get her school things? See her off on the train?"

"Oh my _Lord_, Bev, Hermione hasn't even properly started primary yet and you're already fussing over her secondary plans?" Mark groaned finally.

Remus laughed again. It was just so typically Mark and Beverley, this entire conversation. "No, Beverley, I can bring you and Mark through with me. They don't make 11-year-olds go all by themselves just because they happen to come from non-magic families. It's just that you can't access wizarding locales unless you have a wizard in your company – Hermione, or Harry or I."

Beverley brightened considerably at that statement. "Lovely. I look forward to it."

Dumbledore cut in just then. "This does, however, need to stay confidential, Mr. and Mrs. Granger. There are laws against the general Muggle population knowing about our world. When Harry and Hermione go off to school, you'll need to tell friends and family something different. The Ministry of Magic only allows for immediate household relatives to have that knowledge in the first generation – even Hermione's grandparents will need to be told something else. It is my understanding that most parents tell their families and acquaintances that the children are attending a boarding school for the exceptionally gifted."

Remus nodded. "I think that's exactly what Lily's parents told everybody. It's not an outright lie, just a little vague. We can do some additional research later, Mark," he added when Mark's face wrinkled in a displeased frown. "Right down to a school name, if you'd rather have a specific for your family."

"Seems a bit cloak and dagger, doesn't it?" Mark said dully. "Her grandparents can't even see her anymore once she joins this school? And what about when Hermione grows up, has children of her own? We're not allowed to see her anymore?"

"No, no, Mark, it's not like that," Remus corrected. "There's absolutely nothing stopping Hermione from seeing the rest of your family. It's just that they can't know she's a witch. And of course you can still see her once she's grown. You'll know full well that her children are magical as well – they just make the laws this way so that there's still a certain level of secrecy to our magical world. In some ways, our community has never really outgrown the fear that sprung from the witch-hunting days." He paused. "And you know that there are still people in this world that simply cannot accept that anything different is acceptable."

He saw the approval in Dumbledore's eyes at the way he worded it. It _was_ probably for the best not to mention that prejudices still existed in the wizarding community, especially against Muggleborn witches and wizards. Some things were best left for later years.

Mark nodded slowly. "Yes, yes, I suppose you're right." He sighed. "So… 11 is when she starts? The year she turns 11?"

"When she's 11 by September 1st, just like with school now," Remus corrected. "She and Harry will be starting Hogwarts together." He winced slightly as Harry grinned and shouted in his ear,

"I _told_ you Hermione was magic too! _You_ didn't believe me but I was right!"


	12. Bearer of Halfway Decent News

**Chapter 11: Bearer of Halfway Decent News**

_July 31, 1984_

"Harry, I am _not_ going to ask you again!" Remus called in exasperation as he heard another ominous crash in the sitting room. "Do _not_ use that broomstick in the house!"

"It isn't even a _real_ broomstick, Remus!" Harry called back indignantly. "It's only a toy and I can play with toys in the house!"

"Not if they fly!" Remus repeated, for what felt like the thousandth time. "Harry James Potter, when I get into that sitting room in a minute, you had better not be in the air. Do you hear me? I so much as see you mounted on that broomstick and it's going into the attic under lock and key until you're 11!"

"You're really cranky after full moon," Harry complained as Remus appeared in the doorway. He was just dismounting the toy broomstick when Remus got there. "It's not fair. It's not _my_ fault it's full moon."

Remus had a brief pang in his heart at those words, remembering years earlier and a different Potter complaining about the post-full moon crankies. In fact, James might've even made the same comment about how it wasn't his fault, too.

The difference being, of course, that James had been old enough to remember when full moon rose – Harry was still too small to remember that he hadn't spent the night away yesterday, so it couldn't have been full moon. He just remembered that Remus was never in a good mood after full moon.

"Come on, Harry, put away the broomstick. Hermione's coming over soon and we've got to get to London. I don't want to be in Diagon Alley when England National arrives at Quality Quidditch, especially if Hermione's with us today. You know she's still not used to being in Diagon Alley."

Still grumbling under his breath, Harry set the toy broomstick back into the closet. He looked so morose after that, that Remus couldn't help but scoop up his young charge in his arms. "Oh, come on, Harry. Tell you what – you can pick your own birthday present at Diagon Alley today. Maybe an owl?" he offered, knowing full well that Harry had been wanting a pet for some time. Owls didn't seem to have nearly the skittishness around Remus that other types of wizarding pets did, so it seemed to be the safest choice for Harry.

Harry's face lit up. "An owl, Remus? Really? You mean it? _Any_ owl I wanted?"

"We'll go check out the Emporium while we're in Diagon Alley," Remus laughed. "Maybe they have an owlet we can buy so that it grows with you." He set Harry back down again and headed for the front hallway when the bell sounded. "Oh, I think that's Hermione there now, buddy. Do you want to go ahead and open the door?"

Harry was already halfway to the door when Remus asked him that, so it seemed like a moot question at that point. The young boy pulled open the door and shrieked excitedly, "Hermione, guess what? I'm getting an owl today for my birthday! Isn't that the best birthday present _ever_?!"

"That _is_ a spectacular present, Harry," came Dumbledore's amused reply. "But I believe you may have me confused with somebody else."

Remus tried to contain his chuckles. "Sorry, professor. Hermione is supposed to be arriving any minute. She's coming with us to Diagon Alley today." He pulled Harry back from the doorway. "Harry, can I speak with Professor Dumbledore alone? Go watch for Hermione out the sitting room window."

"All right," Harry sighed in disappointment, and stomped off towards the sitting room again.

"What can I do for you, professor?" Remus asked, as Dumbledore closed the door behind himself.

Dumbledore paused, a degree of seriousness in his eyes that Remus hadn't seen since their war days. "Maybe we should go into the kitchen, Remus?" he asked, moving towards the kitchen as he said it… So it was bad news, whatever it was he needed to discuss with Remus. Something that Harry didn't need to overhear, evidently.

"Sure, professor," Remus said warily, following behind his former headmaster. "What's this about?" he asked when they'd finally arrived in the kitchen.

Dumbledore turned to face him again. "Have you seen the _Daily Prophet _yet today?"

Remus' heart stopped. "N-no, I haven't," he answered. "I was going to pick up a copy this morning. Why?"

"It's about the building collapse," Dumbledore replied. "They've identified the survivor."

After that, things got a little blurry for Remus. He vaguely recognized the sensation of collapsing into one of the kitchen chairs, and Dumbledore's hand gripping his shoulder tightly. Words were leaving his mouth, but he couldn't understand what he was saying. It was an incredibly surreal experience – one that he couldn't liken to anything else he'd ever gone through in his life.

When he finally registered what Dumbledore was trying to say, after what seemed like an eternity, the words seemed so out of place. "Remus, take a breath."

"Who… who was it, professor?" Remus finally managed to gasp out. Maybe that was what he had been saying for Merlin only knew how long. "Who was it that survived?"

Dumbledore paused for another moment. "It was Jenny, Remus. Right now, Magical Catastrophes believes that Sirius must've put some form of protective charm up prior to the collapse. Something that would've ensured Jenny's survival if she were to be trapped."

"Why is this the first time we're hearing about it?" Remus asked hoarsely.

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "She's suffered some memory loss, Remus. She couldn't recall that there would be other people asking about her. She still doesn't recall that she was married to a wizard. Magical Law Enforcement picked up a flag on the name in the civil records. She went into the Muggle offices last week to make some name changes."

"Name changes?" Remus asked again, feeling like he was missing something major in what Dumbledore was saying. "What sort of name changes?"

"A change to her surname," Dumbledore replied. "And a change to her son's surname."

"What?" Remus asked yet again. Now he sort of felt like a broken record. After so long – _years_ by now – he could barely make any sort of sense out of what Dumbledore was telling him. Sirius was dead. Jenny was alive, and she didn't remember Sirius. And they had had a son? Wait. If Jenny didn't even remember Sirius… who were the Ministry to say that this child was even –

"The timing is right for the boy to be Sirius' child," Dumbledore said quietly, as if reading Remus' mind. "I checked the Hogwarts register to be certain. It seems that Jenny remarried last week. Her new husband is in the process of adopting the boy – but seeing as he's the child of a reasonably known wizard in the community…"

"The Ministry is getting shirty about letting it pass," Remus finished. "It was one thing for Michael Nottingham, a whole different matter for Sirius Black, right?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Essentially, that's the Ministry's thought process on the matter. They're bringing it before the Wizengamot that the child be returned to the magical community." It had been happening in the years since James' and Lily's death: half-blood children, their bloodline hidden by their magical parents or orphaned before they reached Hogwarts age, were being taken away from their Muggle families and returned to their magical families to be raised in the community. It had caused quite a bit of uproar – in fact, some of those children were still on the Muggle missing persons' register. Many magical families objected to the kidnappings but with the removals being authorized by the Ministry, there was very little anybody could do – and even less that the Muggle families could do.

"Well, what do they expect to do about it? It's not like Sirius had any family who would be willing to take in the child. Can _you_ see Narcissa Malfoy raising a half-blood child?" He raised an eyebrow at Dumbledore with that question. Why exactly _was_ Remus being told all of this?

Dumbledore sighed. "Believe it or not, Remus, they actually have a different reasoning in mind for the boy." He paused for a moment while Remus tried to figure out what else could possibly be on the docket for this unknown child of Sirius'. Even the Ministry had never gone so far as to take a child when there was no magical blood relation to raise them. That was exactly how Sam Thomas' son had gotten looked over.

"Please, professor, can we just… cut to the point?" Remus finally asked as a shout of excitement came from the sitting room. Harry had evidently spotted the Grangers' car turning onto the drive. "We aren't going to have the privacy much longer," he added.

Dumbledore nodded. "The Ministry wants to deliver custody to you, Remus. Apparently, they're already considering it a noble gesture when you maintained custody of Harry rather than Jenny's family."

Remus tried not to burst out laughing. "Oh, really?" he managed to choke out. "Are they simply conveniently overlooking the fact that we are technically hiding out from the wizarding world? Hell, Harry doesn't attend any wizarding early childhood centres, we're in Diagon Alley _maybe_ once a month, we don't even own an owl. I work in the Muggle world. We live in a Muggle community. Oh, and are they going to ignore the fact I'm a werewolf?"

"Apparently you've maintained enough of a connection to be considered a wizarding alternative," Dumbledore replied. "If I might be so bold, Remus, your offer to the Granger family in the winter did not go unnoticed at the Ministry. They're calling a 'concerted effort to maximize child wizard exposure to our world' – I'm not joking, Remus!" he added as Remus lost the fight with his composure and started laughing hysterically. "The Muggle Family Liaisons office is halfway to implementing a program thanks to you!"

"Yeah, maximize exposure to the wizarding world, minimize the exposure to a werewolf," Remus said wryly. "Or were they planning on offering me a job at the same rate of pay that they'd give an ordinary wizard? Because _then_ I might actually consider it."

"I can't speak to that end, Remus, but I _do_ know that Mafalda Hopkirk was singularly impressed with the way you handled that scenario."

A knock at the door interrupted the rest of Dumbledore's speech, and the two men got to their feet as Harry clattered out into the hallway. "All I'm saying, Remus, is don't be surprised if Magical Law Enforcement shows up on your doorstep in the next few days with the boy. The movement to keep wizarding children in the wizarding world, regardless of their family in the Muggle world, is growing. They're on a mission, and I think we both know what the Ministry can be like when they get an idea in their head." With that said, he smiled softly at Remus. "I'll let you get back to the birthday boy." He tipped his glasses slightly in Remus' direction and added with sparkling eyes, "I believe the Owl Emporium just got a nest of owlets in the other day. They're calling it 'the right bird for the right child', if I recall correctly."

Remus laughed – a genuine laugh this time. "So what they're saying is that the owlets have minds of their own." He shook his head. "Thank you, professor. Harry and I will have to have a look at it when we go into the city."

They exited the kitchen to find Harry and Hermione just about bouncing off the walls with excitement, and Beverley trying futilely to calm them down before they broke something. "Harry, that's enough of that," Remus called warningly. "Calm down before you hurt yourself."

"Oh, _please_ can we go to Diagon Alley now?" Harry begged, racing over to Remus.

"I'm sorry, Remus, I really don't know what's gotten into Hermione today," Beverley said apologetically. "She's just woken up full of energy… Oh, hello, Professor," she added in surprise. "Remus, do you need us to come back?"

"Good morning, Mrs. Granger. I was just on my way out, actually," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "Remus and I have finished our business. Well, Miss Granger, Master Potter, I bid you good day. Happy birthday, Harry. I hear you have a present in the works."

"An _owl_, professor!" Harry exclaimed again. "Remus said I could have an _owl_!" At that exclamation, Hermione shrieked in excitement again and the two children went racing off into the sitting room.

Beverley groaned. "Oh, my Lord. Remus, I am _so_ sorry. If I didn't have to go into the office today, I would come with you. I feel terrible leaving her with you when she's like this. That's awful lot of energy for one person to manage in a busy market." She rubbed her forehead. "Feel free to drop her off as soon as 2 o'clock comes."

Remus laughed, as Dumbledore slipped back out the door and Disapparated. "Beverley, honestly, Hermione at her most energetic still has nothing on Harry. It'll be fine. Go, do what you need to do and stop worrying. She'll be home for dinner tonight."

Beverley looked at him worriedly. "Oh, I can't help it, Remus. He's bound to be off the wall, isn't he? And now I'm giving you _my_ off the wall child, and the both of them together is just –"

"_Go_, Beverley."

Reluctantly, Beverley turned to go back to the car. "Hermione Jean, you behave yourself for Remus today, do you hear me?" she called futilely into the sitting room. Hermione didn't respond, so Beverley moaned again and left. "Thank you again, Remus. You are a saint."

"Goodbye, Beverley," Remus called with a laugh. He shut the door behind her and called into the sitting room, "Harry, Hermione, come on out. We have to get going." He picked up the moneybag with his wizarding currency and popped it into his pocket. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"Remus, what did Professor Dumbledore want?" Harry asked eagerly as the two children bounced out into the hallway again. "You were talking for an awfully long time."

Remus sighed. That was not a topic he wanted to get into with Harry right at the moment. "I'll tell you later, Harry. Right now, let's get on with what we need to do before that Quidditch team arrives."

"Oh, couldn't we stay and see England National?" Harry begged. "Come on, Remus, you know I like Quidditch!"

Remus shook his head. Yes, he certainly did know that Harry loved his Quidditch – but he also knew that his estranged father was in charge of training England National for the 1986 World Cup. The last thing Remus really needed at this point in time was for somebody to put two and two together – his father had spent the last few decades trying to distance himself as much as humanly possible from any connection with Remus. John Lupin would never forgive him if the fact his son was a werewolf cost him his position, and severe consequences would be had… Some things were just never worth the cost. "There'll be far too many people there, Harry. You know how packed Diagon Alley can get."

"What's happening?" Hermione asked innocently.

"The _national team_ is coming to Quality Quidditch for a signing, and Remus won't let me go see them," Harry replied with a pout. "Not even when it's my _birthday_, and it won't even cost a Knut."

"Get your cloak on, Harry," Remus sighed, pulling on his own. "It's cold today."

Hermione looked at Harry's forest green cloak longingly. "Mummy gave me £20 to spend today. I think I'd really like a cloak. All of the other children wear one in Diagon Alley."

Remus laughed. "That sounds like it would be lovely thing to buy, Hermione. Tell you what, we'll go get your pounds changed when we get there, and we'll stop by the cloak shop. Come on, then, both of you. We've got quite the list of things to accomplish today."

* * *

Hermione was still preening over her brand new royal blue cloak with a white lace collar and a bright silver clasp when they stopped for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry still hadn't gotten his owlet, so he was starting to get a bit antsy. Remus just felt exhausted. Two children were clearly way more work than one – he'd known that for months, but today just reinforced that thought in his mind.

That thought brought the morning's conversation with Dumbledore back to the forefront of his mind. He really didn't want to think about the possibility of government-assisted child abduction. Dumbledore hadn't been lying when he said that the movement had been growing – today alone he'd overheard a dozen or more wizards discussing the idea in approving tones. It was a Ministry policy (or close enough to one) that Remus found personally distasteful, and one that – quite frankly – he would probably fight to the ends of the earth. He didn't want to be handed custody of a child taken away from their parents and treated like a hero for doing it.

"Harry, that's enough playing with your food," Remus said sharply when he caught sight of Harry creating volcanoes out of his mashed potatoes. "Eat it properly."

Harry frowned at him again unhappily. "Stop being cranky," he said.

"Stop being silly and maybe I will," Remus replied. "Take some lessons on table manners from Hermione, would you?"

"I can't wait until I'm grown up and nobody can tell me how to eat my food!" Harry seethed and stamped down his volcano with his fork again. Remus bit back the exasperated laugh and returned his own attention to untouched plate in front of him. "I mean it!"

"Sure, Harry," Remus said with a shake of his head. "Finish up with your plate and then we can get going to the Emporium." With that being said, Harry immediately turned his attention back to eating – just as Remus knew that he would. His young charge wanted that little owlet too much to risk being told he couldn't have it for another year because of his behaviour. "Good choice there, buddy."

"I still have money left over," Hermione spoke up happily. "Remus, do I have enough money for a book?" She dropped the handful of coins onto the table, and counted them up slowly. "I have 10 of these ones," she said, pushing the Knuts into a pile. "And two of these," she continued, carefully piling up the Sickles. "Is that enough for a book, Remus?"

Remus laughed. "We'll have to take a look at the bookstore before we leave, Hermione. You might be able to get a storybook with that."

"No, I want to get _Hogwarts: a History_," Hermione said with certainty. "I like history books."

Remus barely managed to retain his laughter. "You definitely don't have enough for _Hogwarts: a History_. It's a bit too advanced for you right now, too, isn't it, Hermione?"

Hermione frowned. "Well, Mummy and Daddy can read it to me."

"Wait for a few years before you buy that one, Hermione," Remus advised. "Try a storybook. You might be able to buy a copy of _The Tales of Beedle the Bard_."

Harry perked up. "Oh, those are fun stories, Hermione. You'll like those ones. I had a copy of it, but I lost it." Hermione looked at him reluctantly, and then put her money back into her coat pocket. "Remus, can I get a copy of that one, too?"

"We'll see, Harry," Remus replied. "You're already getting an owl today." He smiled as Harry wrinkled his small nose at him and then went back to his meal. The nice thing about 4-year-olds, despite all of their moods? They were quite easily distracted.

* * *

The Owl Emporium was always so noisy, a person could barely hear themselves think over the squawking of dozens of birds, the rustling of feathers and the flapping of wings. The yowling of cats, the squeaking of mice and rats, the clattering of a variety of items falling onto the floor. Add a fully-grown adult werewolf to the mix, and the noise was almost unbearable.

"Can I help you with anything?" the young worker asked pleasantly as Hermione and Harry both ran off in the direction of the owls' enclosure.

"I was hoping that you could show us some of your younger owls," Remus said with a slight smile. "I have a 4-year-old who was promised an owl for his birthday today."

"Ah," the worker said with a knowing smile. "So an owlet, maybe? Owls are pretty smart choice for a young boy – practical, and they more or less take care of themselves."

"That was my thought," Remus admitted. "Now, I thought I heard somewhere had you had just gotten a batch of owlets recently?"

The worker nodded, a momentary flash of uncertainty passing through her eyes before she recovered and continued, "Yes. A whole nest of them, fresh into their fledgling feathers. Now, there's six in this hatching season–"

"Remus, I want _that_ one!" Harry exclaimed emphatically as they reached the enclosure. He pointed at a tiny owlet evidently so young it hadn't even lost its newborn fuzz yet. It almost looked completely new – only a few days old.

"I thought you said they were all into their fledgling feathers," Remus said with a frown as he looked thoughtfully at the one Harry was pointing at. "That one doesn't even look old enough to be out of the nest. Harry, that one's a little too small, don't you think? It can't even fly yet."

"That's… strange," the worker said, stepping into the enclosure carefully. "I've never seen that one before." Gently, she lifted the bird into her hand, examining it closely. "A snowy, I would think. We haven't many of those as of late…"

"No, I want that one," Harry insisted, coming up to inspect the bird at close range. "She looks more special than the others, and I want a special one. You _said_ I can have whichever one I wanted, Remus," he reminded Remus with a tug at his robe sleeve.

"Well, Harry, I wasn't thinking that you were going to want an owlet quite that small," Remus said, pulling Harry back from the worker. "She isn't even old enough to be sold yet." He pointed out another owlet nearby, squatting down to catch Harry before he could take off. "What about that one, Harry? He looks almost like the owl your dad had when we were at Hogwarts."

Actually, the raggedy owlet looked absolutely nothing like James' magnificent Great Grey, but Remus was hoping that the shameless use of James' mention would distract Harry from the owlet that he almost certainly wouldn't be getting.

"No, no, I want _that_ one," Harry insisted as he reached out his hands to the worker. "Can I hold her?" he asked politely.

"Sweetheart, I really think you should listen to your –" the worker was kneeling down to look at Harry when she seemed to notice his trademark scar for the first time. "Oh, my Merlin," she gasped. She seemed so flabbergasted at having Harry Potter standing there in front of her that she didn't react in time to stop Harry from taking the tiny bird from her.

"Harry, careful!" Remus scolded, gently pulling Harry's fingers open a little more. "She's a brand-new baby bird, that one. You can't hold her that tightly." He watched as Harry released his grip immediately, wide green eyes never leaving the small bird as it flopped around his hand. It was trembling, reaching out blindly with its beak as if searching for food. "Are you certain that this one's been looked at?" he asked the worker. "I don't think it's even eaten."

"What do you feed a baby owl, Remus?" Hermione asked curiously as she crept closer.

"Well, meat, I suppose," Remus replied. "Harry, you need to give this lady back the baby owl now. We'll have to pick a different owl."

Harry's eyes welled up with tears. "But I want _this_ one, Remus!" he protested, even as Remus was guiding his hands back over to deposit the baby owl gently into the worker's hands. "No, Remus, I don't want another one, I want _this_ one! Remus!"

The worker was watching the exchange sympathetically, and then finally said, "You know what we could do, Master Potter?" She stood up and began to head towards the back room. "We could keep her here for a few weeks until she's big enough to go home, but she'll be marked as yours. We'll write up a bill of sale and everything."

Harry's eyes lit up and Remus relaxed slightly. "Well, that sounds perfect," Remus said gratefully. "Why don't we go get that sorted out, then?" Getting to his feet, he shooed both of the children towards the front desk. "Thank you," he said to the young worker.

"Oh, no worries," the worker replied. "I thought it would be an acceptable compromise. He _does_ seem to have his heart set on this one."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Doesn't he, though?" He hoisted both of the children up onto the counter as the worker disappeared into the back room momentarily. "Well, Harry, you got what you wanted. You'd better think up a name for her before we start filling out papers."

"Oh, I know what I'm going to name her," Harry said immediately, and Hermione giggled.

"Oh, really?" Remus asked teasingly. "And what would that name be?"

"Hedwig," Harry announced. "Hermione and me thought of it when that lady came into the café with the head wig." He grinned at Remus proudly. "It's a good name, isn't it?"

Remus shook his head affectionately and mussed Harry's hair. "You've been thinking about this for a while, haven't you?" he asked. When Harry nodded emphatically, he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You're spoiled, is what you are. You know that, Harry James?"

Harry simply grinned back at him again. "Thank you, Remus."

* * *

"So? How was the day?" Beverley asked cheerily as she entered the kitchen that evening. "Looks like multiple somebodies had a good trip," she added, looking around the table at the two beaming children. She exchanged a glance with Remus, who rolled his eyes and answered,

"Your daughter had a wonderful day, I think." He laughed as Hermione bounced to her feet and ran to her mother, showing her the box with her new cloak inside. "She decided that she wanted a cloak for our outings, and still had enough money left over for her book."

Beverley laughed. "And, young birthday boy, what did you get?"

"I got an owl," Harry said. "But she can't come home quite yet."

Beverley looked over at Remus questioningly. "He latched onto the smallest bird in the store. So new, I don't think its eyes were even open yet," Remus explained. "Won't be ready to be brought home for a few weeks. But she's ours, free and clear."

"No," Harry countered stubbornly. "She's _mine_."

"Oh, pardon me, you're right," Remus agreed with a smile. "She's _yours_."

"Her name is Hedwig, Mummy," Hermione spoke up. "She's fluffy and white. The lady at the shops said that she'll be white when she grows up and gets proper feathers, too!"

"Oooh, a snowy owl?" Beverley said interestedly. "Those are quite rare, aren't they?"

"I don't think I've ever seen one in England, to be honest," Remus admitted. "If anything else, we'll always be able to pick your owl out of a flock, won't we?" he asked Harry, ruffling his hair again.

"She's special," Harry agreed. "Mrs. Granger, would you like some cake?" he asked politely. "Hermione and I left some of my birthday cake for you."

"Well, isn't that sweet of you," Beverley laughed. "You know what? I think I will take a slice. And then a slice for Mr. Granger, too."

"Some tea, Beverley?" Remus asked with a smile as he went to get the cake before Harry got any bright ideas in his head. Disastrous things happened in the kitchen around an overexcited Harry, and Remus had a feeling that if Harry were to drop the remainder of his birthday cake onto the floor, it would destroy the rest of his evening. Possibly even the rest of his week.

"That'd be smashing, Remus, thank you," Beverley said with a sigh. "Mark's out to a conference this week, I wasn't looking forward to going home with Hermione to a quiet, empty house all night."

"Well, if there's one thing this house is not, it's quiet," Remus said. "Feel free to stay as long as you like. Hermione, why don't you show your mum the book you bought today?"

"Did you get that history book you were going on about, darling?" Beverley asked as Hermione snatched up her bag and climbed into her mother's lap.

"No, I didn't have enough," Hermione said in disappointment. "I had enough for this one, though," she added brightly, pulling a children's edition of _The Tales of Beedle the Bard _out of the bag. "It's got a whole bunch of stories in it. We can read it for bedtime, Mummy."

"Beedle the Bard?" Beverley asked, looking over at Remus as he set down the cake and tea in front of her. "What is it, poetry?"

"No, they're old wizarding folk tales," Remus answered, sitting back down at the table. "He's a bit like Aesop, that one. Actually, if we're going to be perfectly honest, I think the pair of them were related. In all truthfulness, Beverley!" he exclaimed when Beverley failed to conceal the snort of laughter. "I think they were cousins or something of the like!"

"Hmm. Old folk tales, you say?" Beverley mused, flipping through the pages. "I still can't get over the _pictures_," she said in awe. "The way they move so realistically… you'd think you were watching a film or something." She paused on a page. "Babbitty Rabbitty and the Cackling Stump? Really, Remus – that's the stuff of folk tales?"

"Well, the adult's version of the tale has a different name," Remus amended. "The book she got is the children's version. They changed the names, a bit of the circumstances. Just the way they did for many of the tales you probably know."

Beverley thought about that one for a moment. "All right, Remus. I'll take your word for it."

* * *

As the evening wore on, Remus found his mind drifting back to the conversation he'd had with Dumbledore that morning. He knew, deep down within himself, that he didn't really think that nothing was going to come of the discovery that Jenny had had a child. For a moment, Remus cursed the existence of the child – if it hadn't been for that one tiny little human being, the Ministry probably would've left everybody involved well enough alone. The Muggle widow of a dead wizard with memory loss was hardly the Ministry's top priority.

Then he thought better. What right did he have to blame anybody _but_ the Ministry for what was surely going on at this very moment: the Wizengamot gathered, preparing to vote on whether to rip another child away from everything they know; Jenny, completely oblivious to the fact that the wizarding world was about to turn her life upside down again; even this unknown boy, whose entire life was about to change.

Nope. What was going on was far bigger than any one of them.


	13. Adjustment Period

**Chapter 12: Adjustment Period**

Remus had just about convinced himself that nothing was going to happen when the kitchen fireplace crackled and snapped insistently the following week. Harry was off at the Granger house for the day – Beverley's way of saying 'thank you' for taking Hermione the week before. Remus had been sitting in the kitchen, feet kicked up on a chair with a book he'd been meaning to read for weeks and a good hot cup of tea, when from out of the fireplace came Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was accompanied by another young witch – one who had likely only just finished her Hogwarts studies in the spring – carrying a crying small boy.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Lupin," she greeted briskly. "Sorry to drop in on you like this, but business so rarely follows a schedule in my line of work. You understand."

"Of course, Madam Bones," Remus said with a sigh, getting to his feet. "Can I get you anything – tea, coffee?"

"Oh, no, we won't be long," Madam Bones replied. "Now, I understand that Professor Dumbledore came to see you last week regarding the matter of the 1982 building collapse in London?"

"That he did," Remus said warily, trying not to focus too much attention on the child still sobbing behind her. "He had mentioned that Jennifer Black had survived the collapse with some damage to her memory, is that correct?" He paused, trying to decide what the next appropriate thing to say would be. "Madam Bones, may I speak freely?"

"Absolutely, Mr. Lupin," she answered. "I prefer to hear everything as directly as humanly possible in these cases. I can assure you that you cannot possibly say anything to me that I have not already heard in some form."

Remus sighed. "Madam, I believe that I know the reason you're here. I must admit that I do have serious objections to the policy in effect." He picked up his teacup and took a small sip. "I had my reasons when the building collapse happened and I took custody of Harry. They had nothing to do with current Ministry policy."

She smiled slightly. "I didn't take you for a pureblood fanatic, Lupin. Not with your background and circle of acquaintances. Rest assured that there are many of us within the Ministry who would agree with you. However, the decisions on these sorts of widespread, interdepartmental policies go on at levels far above what we can expect to influence. So, in the meantime, there is really not much else we can do but try to soften the blow as much as possible."

Remus bit the inside of his cheek. "What does Jenny think happened to him?" he asked softly.

"We thought it prudent," Madam Bones began, "given the mother's history with our world, and given the very real threat of Dark wizards… we thought it would be prudent and safest for her if –" she stopped again, and Remus suddenly understood what was it was she was trying to get out.

"She's had a Memory Charm done," he finished for her. "She and her family."

Madam Bones nodded slowly. "I want it understood, Lupin," she said with a slight quiver in her voice as Remus reached out to take the small boy from the young woman, "that this was not why I joined the Ministry of Magic."

"Of course it wasn't," Remus agreed. "Who could possibly join up, knowing that this is what they'd be doing?" He sighed. "Madam Bones, I'm sure that you are in the knowledge of the fact that I have a Notice of Awareness for the Granger family. Their daughter Hermione has been confirmed as a Muggleborn witch under my mentorship until Hogwarts, and I need to be able to tell them what this is all about. They'll ask too many questions otherwise – they know my history too well."

She nodded. "Yes, of course. Deal as you see fit, Lupin. I'm not here to tell you how to handle your personal affairs." She laughed wryly. "Well, at least, not in that manner." Pausing as she watched Remus try to calm down the boy, she continued after a moment, "His name is Simon Oliver. He's just past his first birthday – according to the Muggle hospital records, the date of birth is listed as July 25, 1983. Muggle Affairs is currently in the process of removing his belongings from the former home. They should arrive here shortly." She stopped again. "I –"

"It's all right, Madam," Remus said. "I think I can handle everything from here. Thank you… for your understanding. You're slowly restoring my faith in wizardkind."

When Madam Bones and the silent young witch had left the kitchen, Remus sank back down into his chair. "Crap," he muttered. "This is the last thing I needed." Sighing, he picked up the telephone and began dialing his workplace. Time to see if he could get himself some time away to sort out whatever needed to be sorted. "Double crap, shit, it's full moon this week," he groaned as he glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall. "Of course it is, not like anybody who _knows_ that I'm a werewolf can take that into consideration…"

* * *

By the time Mark arrived at the door with Harry in tow at sunset, the Ministry had come and gone a couple more times (Remus had had to send them back a second time when he realized that none of the wizards recognized what a carseat was, and had left it behind at the other house) and Remus had just managed to calm Simon down enough to sleep – of course, Remus still wasn't entirely convinced that the boy hadn't just cried until he was exhausted.

He had retained the clarity of mind to call over to the Grangers ahead of time and warn them about the basics of the situation. Hopefully, Harry had at least been told that there was a new child in the house…

"Yeah, you look like you've just had an unhappy toddler dumped on your doorstep," Mark laughed as Remus opened the door. "Poor lad. I would hate to be you, that's all I have to say."

"Remus, why is _he_ here?" Harry demanded unhappily. "You know, Sam at nursery has a new brother at home, and he says that he should be returned."

Remus sighed, reaching down with his free hand to smooth down a flyaway lock of dark hair on Harry's head. "Come on into the sitting room, Harry. I'll try and explain everything to you. Thanks, Mark – I'll see you tomorrow?"

Mark nodded. "Of course. Good night, Remus. Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Mr. Granger," Harry muttered, stomping off into the sitting room.

"Thanks again," Remus sighed as he closed the door behind him. "Harry, come here," he called. "Don't be giving me attitude like that."

"What is he doing here?" Harry demanded again. "Who is he, anyway?"

Remus let out a slow breath. "Well, Harry, this is the tricky part." He sat down on the sofa next to Harry, smiling slightly as Harry immediately curled up against him, shooting murderous glares in Simon's direction. "I have to try and explain this in a way you'll understand, Harry, so bear with me." He paused. "This is Simon. Simon is Sirius and Jenny's baby."

"Sirius and Jenny didn't have a baby, though," Harry protested.

Remus sighed. "Not when you last saw them, you're absolutely right, Harry. Simon was born after we moved to Lee-on-the-Solent. Long after we knew that we wouldn't ever be seeing Sirius and Jenny again." Maybe it was much better to skirt the issue of Sirius' death and the truth about what happened to Jenny. Maybe when he was older, more able to understand…

Harry frowned at him, deep thoughts clearly trying to process in his young mind. "So why is he here _now_?"

Remus took another deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, Harry, the Ministry of Magic just found him. They decided that because Simon is a wizard, and that we knew Sirius and Jenny, that he would be better off living with us." He paused, thinking over how to phrase the next part of his explanation.

"How long is he going to be here?" Harry asked. "Just for a little while?"

Remus shook his head. "No, Harry. Simon's going to be here with us for a very long time – for the rest of our lives." He sighed. "It isn't going to be easy goings at first, Harry. I'm going to be honest with you. Simon isn't used to us yet, and he's going to be quite frightened for a while. He'll probably cry a lot. And loudly. But I need you to be patient with him. You were quite frightened when you went to live with Sirius at first, too – and you already knew him very well."

Harry frowned again, as if a sudden problematic thought had just struck his mind. "Where's Simon going to sleep?"

"Ah, yes, the million Galleon question," Remus said dryly. "Well, Harry, he's going to have to bunk in with you. He's got his own cot and everything, but I just don't have the space in my bedroom to put him in there."

Harry wrinkled his nose in distaste. "I don't want to share my bedroom, Remus. I like having it all to myself."

Remus bit back the laugh. Typical only child response. "You know, Harry, when I was your age, I was sharing a room with my brother. Actually, we didn't even have a proper room. We were sharing a pullout sofa in the sitting room. You've been quite lucky to have your own room. Besides, when you go to Hogwarts, you certainly won't be having your own room. Think about it as preparation for Hogwarts."

That seemed to give Harry some food for thought, as he fell silent. Then he said in a tone of childish resignation, "I still don't like it, Remus. Can _he_ sleep in the sitting room?"

"Uh, no," Remus said firmly. "Come on, off to bed with you. You've got school in the morning and then the Grangers are coming over for dinner in the evening. You'd hate to be falling asleep on Hermione, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Harry finally sighed.

"Come on, then. I think we might even have time for a story tonight," Remus said, shooing Harry off the sofa.

* * *

Remus was slightly in awe of anybody with more than one child the next morning as they were all running around, trying to get things sorted out for school. Thankfully, he had managed to catch his boss in a charitable mood, so he'd been given the week off to put his affairs in order – he could've only imagined the horror that the morning would've been if he'd been trying to get to work on time as well.

Simon was fussing nonstop, forcing Remus to do everything with a crying toddler in one arm. Harry was obviously having toddler-envy, throwing fits over useless things and things that weren't even happening. It took Remus over an hour to somehow wrangle Harry into his school uniform, only to have his elder charge yank off his jumper and demand to wear his jeans and a tee. When told that it wasn't going to happen, Harry proceeded to throw a screaming fit so loud, Remus was sure that the penguins heard it in Antarctica.

Breakfast was a disaster before it even began. Harry refused every option given to him and demanded biscuits and a chocolate bar. When Remus snapped at him that he had the option of cereal or toast, Harry declared that he was never going to eat again.

"Good. I'll save a crapload of money that way," Remus finally snapped, offering an arrowroot to Simon in an attempt to calm him down. "Go get your jacket and your wellies."

Harry's eyes widened. "You swore at me," he said accusingly.

"Yes, yes I did," Remus replied, "and I shall do it again if you don't get your jacket and your wellies on before I get to the door."

"It's not my fault!" Harry wailed heartbrokenly. "It's not _my_ fault you took a stupid baby and it's full moon! It's not my fault! Why am _I_ being punished?"

"Harry, take your rucksack!" Remus called after him futilely. "Or you shall be very, _very_ hungry by the time nursery ends today!" He sighed and set Simon back down in the high chair, putting some cereal and an arrowroot into the tray. "Harry James Potter!" he called again, picking up the rucksack and leaving the kitchen.

Harry was sitting in the front hallway, bawling uncontrollably. "I don't want to go today, Remus! Please don't make me go!" He threw one of his rubber boots at the opposite wall. "I want to stay home! Send _Simon_ to nursery! I don't _want_ him here anymore!"

"Oh, well, that came around quickly," Remus muttered as he dropped the rucksack next to Harry and slid down to the ground. "Come here, then, Harry. Come here and talk it out." He sighed and reached out his arm. "I know, buddy. You didn't have much choice in the matter, and it's a huge change for you."

"I don't like it, Remus," Harry sobbed as he curled up next to Remus. "I don't like it. I didn't sleep _at all_ yesterday and I'm _tired_."

"Neither did I, Harry. I know," Remus said gently. "We've just got to power through it, yeah? Just like when we moved into this house. It was scary for you, being in here at first. But we powered through it, and you got used to sleeping here. Eventually Simon will get used to sleeping here and then we can all sleep at night again."

"Do you promise, Remus?" Harry asked tearfully.

"I promise, bud," Remus sighed. Simon started screaming just then and he looked back at Harry with a knowing look. "Come on, help me out here, yeah? Can you get your things on for me and then we'll go. We might just have enough time to go get a hot chocolate on the way to nursery, all right?"

Harry's eyes lit up at the promise of a hot chocolate and he bounced to his feet. "Okay, Remus!"

Remus got up and frowned ruefully to himself as he headed back into the kitchen. He could've sworn that, once upon a time, he had promised himself to never be the godfather who bribed good behaviour out of his godson.

Oh, how the mighty had fallen.

* * *

He could see Mark and Beverley both trying really hard not to laugh as Remus got the boys out of the backseat of the car. Obviously, he looked just about as frazzled as he felt.

"Oh, my dear boy, do you need some help there?" Beverley asked with a laugh as they approached.

"I think I've got it," Remus said as he unbuckled Simon, who finally seemed to be falling asleep after the long drive into town. Harry, on the other hand, seemed to be on the verge of another major meltdown as he struggled out of his seat belt. "Come on, Harry, let's get a move on."

Apparently those were the wrong words to say, because Harry did go into full meltdown mode at that statement. Without another word said, Beverley swooped off to the other end of the car and hoisted Harry out and up into her arms. "Oh, my poor little man," she crooned gently. "Didn't get a wink of sleep, did you?"

"Welcome to my morning," Remus muttered darkly to Mark as he stood up again. "Except the baby was awake and screaming then."

Mark laughed. "Welcome to life with two kids, my friend. This is exactly why Bev and I stopped at one." He clapped Remus on the shoulder and said, "I wish you all the best, Mr. Lupin. Something tells me you're going to need it. Just keep telling yourself in ten years, the both of them will be off at school for most of the year."

"Why, oh, _why_, does Hogwarts not have an early admissions programme?" Remus groaned as Beverley rejoined them.

"Come on, then. Why don't we get this little one inside and sorted out?" Beverley said, smoothing down Harry's hair again as he continued to hiccough tearfully. "I'm sure he'll be just fine once he's found out that it's a swimming day today," she added a little more loudly.

Harry lifted his head momentarily. "We're going swimming today?" he asked happily.

"That you are, my boy," Beverley said with a laugh. "Come on, then. You think you're ready to go inside?" When Harry nodded cheerfully, she set him back down on the ground. "Go on ahead, then. Remus'll be in in a second." She looked over at Remus knowingly. "He's having a bit of baby-envy, is he?"

Remus laughed drily. "What was your first clue?"

Beverley smiled. "My niece was the same way when her sister was born. I think it's worse when they're the same gender. They're competing for all of the same things, they're sharing a lot more, and you poor boy, the only adult in the house."

"I'm hoping that this stage wears off really soon," Remus admitted as he resettled Simon cautiously against his shoulder. "I'm going to need my sleep eventually."

"Oh, speaking as one of three brothers," Mark spoke up, "I'm sorry to say that it never ends. My brothers and I still bicker every time we meet. Our parents just refuse to referee for us anymore."

"It gets better, Remus, really," Beverley cut in, glaring at Mark. "Mark is just making a joke. Brothers may rival a bit, but eventually everybody settles in and life slows down." She smiled encouragingly at him. "Can I see the little one? I'll hold onto him while you're in school with Harry. I'm sure Harry would appreciate the one-on-one time with you. It's going to happen so rarely for a while."

"Thanks, Beverley," Remus said gratefully, carefully transferring Simon to her arms. Once the transfer was complete, he took off towards the school doors, where Harry was waiting anxiously for Remus to join him. "All right, Harry, let's go get you settled in, yeah?"

Harry looked up at him worriedly. "Remus, did we pack my swimming suit?" he asked. "I don't remember packing it this morning." He slipped one small hand into Remus', dragging his feet in an unusual attempt to stall.

"I had it packed last night, Harry, I promise," Remus comforted him. "It's in the bottom of your bag. You have your swimming suit, your lunchbag and your notice book."

Harry froze again at the doorway to the nursery class. "Are you going to remember to pick me up today?" he whispered, grip tightening on Remus' hand.

Remus tried to stifle the laughter, because Harry sounded as serious as could be about that statement. "Harry, when have I ever forgotten to pick you up from school?" he asked gently, kneeling down to look at Harry in the eye. "What's bringing all of this on all of a sudden, buddy?"

"Sam's mummy forgot to pick him up once when they got their new baby," Harry said softly. "He said he was waiting at the school _all night_, Remus. His mummy forgot him and his daddy was gone, so he couldn't go home _all night_."

Remus sighed. "Oh, Harry. I could never forget you at school, I promise." He smiled gently at his charge, suddenly realizing just how frightened Harry must've been feeling about the overnight change in their family unit. "Things are going to be different from now on, Harry, but I _promise_ you that you and I, we're never going to change. Nothing is going to change how much I care about you. Not even if you throw a million fits and wreck everything we own." He paused. "But don't do that, because then we'd have nothing to play with, would we?"

Harry giggled slightly. "Okay," he said reluctantly. "Can you come in with me?"

"Sure, Harry," Remus replied, ruffling Harry's hair affectionately. "I need to talk to Miss Anderson anyway. I think Hermione might be waiting for you at the blocks table, yeah?" With that said, he pushed open the door to the nursery class and shooed Harry in front of him. "Come on, get your jacket off," he coaxed, helping Harry out of the jacket. "Put on your school trainers. And go have fun. Be good."

Instead of running off as he normally did, however, Harry simply wrapped himself around Remus' leg quietly.

"Oh, come on now, Harry," Remus soothed.

"Running late today?" Harry's teacher asked as she approached them, a tone of curiosity in her voice. "He's not usually this clingy. Is everything all right?" She looked down at Harry with a gentle smile on her face. "You feeling ill a bit, Harry?"

Harry shook his head mutely, burying his face against Remus' trouser leg.

"He's tired," Remus explained quietly. "I got notice yesterday afternoon that my other godson's parents passed. Their baby arrived last night, none of us have slept a wink." He decided, in the end, that the simplest story was the easiest to maintain. Another godson who'd never been seen wouldn't be questioned, especially if they lived up in the north. His four-year-old not knowing the specifics of what had happened to Simon's parents wasn't unusual. "I didn't have time to prepare him before the baby came. He's feeling a bit…"

"Ah," Miss Anderson said with a dawning understanding on her face. "Well, I hope you're not too tired for swimming today, Master Potter," she said to Harry. "I believe it's even your turn to be helper today." She knelt down and said in a confidential whisper, "I have a rather large gold star sticker in my desk that I could be persuaded to give to a really super helper today."

Harry looked out interestedly, his eyes quickly scanning the room to see if anybody was nearby. "Like even bigger than the star that Evan got for his birthday?" he whispered back.

"A hundred times bigger than Evan's birthday star," she confirmed. "Come on, then. Help me pass out the marker boxes?" She grinned and stood up as Harry nodded eagerly and took off towards the supply cupboard. "Oh, he'll be all right," she told Remus with a smile. "He's not the first of them to be upset over a new baby, and he won't be the last. With swimming today, they'll all be fast asleep once lunch is done. Hopefully he'll be happier for you tonight." She paused, watching Harry eagerly put a set of markers on each of the tables. "Can I ask? Does he know why the baby's come?"

Remus sighed. "Somewhat. I haven't explained the death part to him. He knows that we won't be seeing them again." He sighed yet again, chewing at his lower lip. "He was so small when his parents and his godparents died. Hardly more than a baby. There really wasn't a need or a way to explain it to him. But now… now he's old enough that he's asking, and I really don't know what answers to give him."

Miss Anderson smiled gently. "I have books, if that might help out. I know it doesn't seem like much, but sometimes it's just easier to read a story than to try and explain." She watched Remus for a second. "I know, you must be just knackered. Tell you what, I'll put it together for him for his book bag. The children are due to take them home today, anyhow."

"That would be absolutely fabulous," Remus said gratefully. "I'll take anything I can get at this point, really."

* * *

"So what's the deal with the baby, Remus?" Mark asked after dinner, once they had distracted Harry and Hermione with toys in Harry's bedroom. "You said there was a whole, long, complicated story?" He settled back into the sofa with his cup of tea, crossed his legs and looked at Remus expectantly. "Well, now I'm waiting."

"Mark, you could've said it a little more nicely," Beverley scolded. "But you do have to admit, Remus, it's a bit peculiar how fast and unexpected the whole thing was."

Remus sighed, studying the tiny swirls of bubbles rising from his teacup. "This isn't going to be a very good story, Mark, Beverley, I won't lie to you. But I think you both need to hear the full truth of it." He paused for a moment, took a sip of the hot liquid, and then started. "Simon's parents were Sirius and Jenny."

Beverley frowned. "Harry's original godparents?" she asked. "But I thought they'd died in the building collapse two years ago. Simon can't be any more than a year."

"I thought they'd both died, too," Remus said quietly. "I was contacted about a year ago about the possibility of a survivor in the building. The Muggle newspapers were reporting it too, I'm sure you remember it. Well, the Department of Magical Catastrophes, which is the department in charge of dealing with the clean-up and concealment of wizard-related disasters, couldn't find out who it was that survived until a couple of weeks ago."

"Simon's mother," Mark said, sitting up straight as he watched Remus. "But why didn't she contact you?"

"She'd suffered memory loss as a result of the accident, or the trauma, or something related to it," Remus replied. "She couldn't remember her life with Sirius. My understanding is that Jenny never went back to her own family, either." He paused. "I went on the run with Harry when the building collapsed first broke news, too. Even if she could remember me and Harry, I seriously doubt that she would've ever been able to find me… She moved out of London and went up north for some reason. The Ministry never had reason to keep searching for her until she went into the town hall to make some surname changes. Apparently, Jenny remarried recently and her new husband was in the process of adopting Simon."

"I'm still not understanding how the baby ended up _here_," Mark said. "None of this sounds like a reason to hand a child over to care."

Remus sighed again. "That's the complicated part," he said quietly. "The first thing you need to understand is that the wizarding world isn't completely without its dark spots. There's still an awful lot of mistrust and prejudice, especially against the Muggle world. And unfortunately, when the people in power carry that sort of closed-minded thinking, they come up with some terrible government policies." He paused, taking another sip of his tea. "The current government policy states that when a half-blood child – that is to say, a child that has one magical and one Muggle parent – is in a position where they have little to no access to the wizarding world, it's the government's responsibility to–"

"Have no access to the wizarding world?" Mark interrupted.

"Children who, for example, have lost their magical family to death or divorce," Remus explained. "Especially since the Dark War, when so many of our numbers have died… The idea is that the policy maintains the maximum number of wizarding children in the community as possible. So a magical parent gets custody in a divorce, or in the case of the death of the magical parent, the government will often remove the child from their Muggle home and place them with the nearest living magical relative." He sighed. "Half the missing children you see on the national register are probably in the wizarding community. Sometimes they'll overlook it, especially if the magical parent was Muggleborn themselves or relatively unimportant in the community." He paused, chewing at his lip.

"That's terrible," Beverley said indignantly. "I can't believe people stand for this."

"This is a severely broken community, Beverley, in a lot of ways," Remus replied. "People are still recovering from a time not so long ago – only a few years past now – when speaking out against the government or showing sympathies to the Muggle world would cost you and your family your lives." He sighed. "Many of the people who supported the Dark Lord are still living their everyday lives. Families are still scared to speak out. Anyway, as I was saying… sometimes the government will overlook the child. There's so many these days – children whose magical parents hid their marriages and births or abandoned them to protect them from retribution while they fought against the Dark wizards and witches. It's simply not worth the effort for many of the workers when they know there's very few if any close magical relations. But Sirius… Sirius came from a very old, very prominent pureblood family. I'm talking a bloodline so pure it's been inbred for generations. It's the sort of family that everybody who's anybody in the wizarding world has a branch somewhere in the tree. Sirius was quite well-known in his own right, as well."

"So they went after Simon," Beverley said quietly. "But why you? I thought werewolves weren't really accepted in the wizarding world…"

"We aren't," Remus agreed. "Well, despite the fact that I'm sure that Sirius and I are related somewhere a few centuries back, I'm also currently guardian for his godson. Another child with a very prominent background. The Potters were another big pureblood line – I'm reasonably certain that Sirius and James were cousins of some kind as well – and, well, Harry's a bit of a celebrity after James' and Lily's deaths as you know. Apparently, they see that, when coupled with the fact that I've been giving Hermione 'advanced lessons' in wizarding culture, if you would… apparently that signaled to them that I would be exactly the sort of person who would agree with this government-abetted child abduction scheme."

"What about Jenny and her new husband?" Mark asked seriously. "Wouldn't they have reported him abducted by now?"

Remus sighed. "The government workers who took him have completely erased him from their memories. Apparently they thought it safest, given Harry and Sirius' history of pissing off Dark wizards." He rubbed his forehead. "There's really no other option. Sirius was estranged from his family, but given that he was the only male still left carrying the Black name, it wouldn't stop his cousin Narcissa from taking him in and completing wrecking any decency the child had. She lost her husband and her sister in that building collapse as well – in fact, I'm certain that they were the ones who caused it. I'm sure that she's been grooming her son to take over his father's way of life – another Black boy to carry on the family tradition would be just the sort of thing to redeem her, in her eyes."

"So that's it? That's all that can be done?" Beverley demanded. "He's only got the one cousin, and nobody is doing anything to stop this terrible government-assisted crime spree?"

Remus laughed hoarsely. "Unless you count the other disowned cousin, who married a Muggleborn. She's almost as hated in the Black line as Sirius. They only kept going after him because of the fact he's the last male. Andromeda's all but forgotten by now. I'm closer to pureblood than I am to Muggleborn, I suppose they just took the lesser of the two bloody evils."

"This is completely mad," Beverley said in astonishment. "It's the bloody Third Reich is what it is. Honestly, though, Remus? People just go swanning in, take whatever they please from the lesser beings and then swan off again in the name of blood purity?"

"Pretty much," Remus said dryly. "I have to stress, though, Beverley, that the majority of the wizarding community don't agree with this. The prejudice against werewolves is a far deeper thing, but the majority of wizards and witches that Hermione will run across have absolutely nothing against her background. In fact, half of them will probably be Muggleborn themselves, or at least half-blood. It's far more common than the pure-blood folk these days. Even some of the pure-blood families are just fine when it comes to being open-minded: the Potters… the Weasleys…"

"Well, that's only slightly comforting," Mark muttered. "And there's no way that you can just say that you'll take custody of him, and then turn right back around and give him back to Jenny?"

Remus sighed. "Memory Charms are designed to be permanent by their very nature. Reversing a charm is tricky at best, and doesn't come without risks and side effects. Even if I could manage to undo the charm without killing her, I could give her back her memories but destroy her personality. I could completely scramble her brainwaves. She could remember who _he_ is but not who _she_ is. She could remember the past but be unable to form any new memories." He sighed again. "Magic isn't as easy as the fairy tales you grew up with make it seem. I'd love to meet those authors and figure out where they learned all their magic facts."

"You come from a seriously deformed society, Remus," Mark finally announced after a moment of silence. "I see why you live largely outside of it."

"This is a wartime government populated by the wrong sort of pure-blood fanatics gone completely 'round the twist. And unfortunately, we don't have much in the way of power to control who's in government. We don't vote them in, they're elected by the existing department heads. An old boys' club, if you will. I could probably predict with 95% accuracy who's going to take over when Fudge retires."

"Your prime minister's name isn't Adolf Hitler, by chance?" Beverley asked dryly.

Remus frowned at her slightly. "No, Cornelius Fudge. Why?"

Mark spoke up quietly, "Adolf Hitler was a dictator in 1930s and 1940s Germany. Did a lot of the same things that you're describing to Jewish folk and scores of others. Millions dead by the end of the war."

"I suppose it probably does have its similarities," Remus admitted softly. "But there you have it. They'd already done everything when they dropped him here – Memory Charms, emptied out his belongings from the house, everything. There was no going back… I just have to keep thinking of it as if it was going to happen regardless of my answer, I'd rather he grow up here, where he'll learn a better way of being in our world than with the Malfoys."


End file.
